Everyday is a Winding Road
by Pimpin Satan
Summary: Feeling ripped off at the real end to the show? Set after Hard Luck Women. Follow the newly divided crew as they try to find where they belong.Drug use and language. "Has Spike finally found Julia?"chap 13/ 'Angel' is a centerfold.
1. Changes pt 1

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from Cowboy Bebop.

This happens at the end of hard luck women, I'm not sure if I'm going to change the end of the series yet.

Song credits for Changes goes to David Bowie.

****

Low down

Ooo…

Laying on her back looking up at the sky, Faye let out a small sigh. Rocks sticking in her back and dirt making its way into her clothes. She was at an impasse. '_What now?'_ she thought to herself. '_Belonging is the most important thing'_ still echoing in her mind from earlier that day. '_What if when you get there, there's nowhere to belong?' _ Faye let the tears stream down her face. '_No one will see them'_ she said to herself.

****

Still don't know what I was waiting for

And my time was running wild

A million dead-end streets

And every time I thought 

I'd got it made 

It seemed the taste was not so sweet

No Spike to tell her that she was a stupid wench. No Jet to look at her as if she had grown a second head. No Ein shit to step in. No Ed to run around calling her Faye-Faye. '_Ed' _she sat up and drew out her pack of cigarettes. '_Wonder if she took my advice?'_ She clicked her lighter and lit her smoke. She glanced up at the meteors that constantly showered the Earth. '_I wonder if they even realize that I'm gone yet?'_ She dragged on her cigarette. '_Wonder if they even miss me, I know it's been only a few hours.' 'Who am I kidding, they're probably having a fucking party' _ Another stream of meteors rained down in the distance. '_I wonder if that's what happened to my home?'_ Her home had been so beautiful. A mansion on the waterfront of an old earth town called Newport. One of the many great American castles that stood in the sleepy New England state of Rhode Island. '_The biggest little state in the union'_ Faye remembered the stupid little tourist ad song. She inwardly wondered what she was going to do next? I mean what else was there to do?

'_Do I go back to the BeBop and admit defeat?' 'Or do I go on a quest to reclaim my lost early adulthood like some Jon Hughes movie?'_ The BeBop, that wasn't exactly where she belonged either. They didn't want her there. It wasn't as if she needed them or anything. It was just free showers, meals and ship repair. '_Right?'_ she hated the thought of needing anyone, especially them. Most off, she hating thinking that Spike was right all along. She didn't want to have to hear him say {I told you so} when she told him that nothing came out of her past. '_Lunkhead'_ He had no clue.

****

But I've never caught a glimpse

Of how much the others must see the faker

I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch- changes

(turn and face the strain)

Just gonna have to be a different man

Time might change me

But I can't trace time

Faye scowled at the fact that that lunkhead had the nerve to tell her that the past didn't matter. (you have a future, that's what counts) still resonated through her mind. '_Hypocrite'_ Faye snubbed out her cigarette and stood up. '_Well'_ she thought as she stretched '_can't exactly sleep here'_ So she started to walk back down the hill she had run up a few hours ago. As she walked back to her redtail she started to remember more of her previous life. Her first kiss, her first best friend and her first joint were some of the first to come to mind. She thought that she could use a THC induced trip down memory lane right about now. 

****

Ooo yeah

I watch the ripples change their size

But never leave the stream

Of war impermanence and so the days float

Through my eyes

And these children that you spit on

As they try to change their worlds

Are immune to your consultations

They're quite aware of what they're going through

Sitting on the lumpy bed in her motel room, she casually lit up her newly procured bone. After a few hits she laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. {You've got a future, that's what counts} replayed through her head. "Lunkhead" she blurted out. She took another hit. Feeling safe that no one would see or hear her, she decided to have this conversation with herself out loud. That and in the fuzzy state she was currently in, it was just easier. "Telling me that my past doesn't matter" she scoffed. " Look at him, he's the one that's either running back to wake sleeping dogs." She took another hit. "Or he's just happily skipping through the fields of life like a gnome looking for a mushroom to sit on!" She had to laugh when she pictured that last statement. She could see Spike now, prancing happily to and fro, looking for the perfect mushroom. Actually, now that she thought about it, Spike reminded her more of a happy troll. "Must be the hair" she snorted.

She wondered if you brushed his hair up all straight and then shook him if his hair would fan back out to the sides. Faye let out a roar, it was now official. She was stoned, and she had the giggles. Faye then stopped to think if this was what it was like to think like Ed. "Ed" she murmured. Finishing off the rest of her joint, she crawled under the covers. She thought about Ed, how she was probably going to be perpetually 12 years old. Faye kind of wished she could get away with a life like that. Well, Ed would grow up when Ed was ready to." Did I just think in the third person?" "Man I'm wasted" were her last words as she drifted off to sleep.

****

Ch-ch-changes

(turn and face the strain)

Ch-ch-changes

Don't tell them to grow up and out of it

Ch-ch-changes

Where's your shame

You've left us up to our necks in it

Time may change me

But I can't trace time


	2. Changes pt 2

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from cowboy bebop.

Song credits for Changes go to David Bowie.

****

Ooo…

Still don't know what I was waiting for

And my time was running wild

A million dead-end streets

And every time I thought I'd got it made

It seemed the taste was not so sweet

The next morning Faye headed right for the shower as soon as she woke. "At least I'll have plenty of hot water" she mused. After an hour and a half hot shower she emerged from the bathroom. She sat on the bed to contemplate what to do next. Obviously breakfast would have to be first on the list. With that decided she grabbed her things and exited the room in search of something to eat. Down the street from the motel was a small diner that was called THE OLD EARTH GREASY SPOON. ' _Mmmm sounds _yummy' she thought sarcastically. After making sure that the sign read open, she opened the door. Soon after entering and finding a clean booth to sit at, a blonde waitress sauntered over to take her order. As she lit her cigarette, Faye noticed right away that this woman was not the typical waitress type. Not that Faye was biased towards the usual stereotyped waitress, but this woman did not appear to be the usual airhead that you would come to expect to see.

"Can I get you any coffee?" she asked in a throaty voice. "Yeah, sure" Faye replied. "you got a menu?" "Sure, hold on, I'll bring it by with your coffee." Faye nodded her head in approval and turned to stare out the window. '_Where have I seen her before?'_ Faye asked herself. She shook the thought from her head as the waitress returned with the coffee and menu. "I'll give you a few minutes to decide" and with that she left to tend to another customer. Faye perused the menu for something good. After deciding on bacon and eggs, Faye placed her order and once again turned her attention to the window. '_What now?'_ popped back into her brain. She thought about the conversation she had had with herself at the old foundation yesterday. 

Soon she was roused from her thoughts by the arrival of her food. "Here you go" smiled the waitress. Faye gave a rushed thanks to the waitress before shoveling her food into her mouth. She instinctively felt eyes on her. Taking a quick glance into the window, Faye thought she could see her waitress watching her. Faye turned to the counter and saw the waitress looking at her with a grin on her face. "What?!" Faye shouted through a mouth full of food. "Nothing, you just eat like someone that I used to know." "Oh, well get over it, your creeping me out?" Faye groused. "Sorry." When she finished her breakfast, Faye rummaged through her bag for a paper and pen. '_Might as well make a list of things to do next'_ she thought. First off she was going to have to see who owned that land that her house once stood on. Then figure out how to prove that she rightfully owned it. Second, what was she going to do for work. Keep being a bounty hunter? ' She would definitely need another cigarette if she was going to have to make such monumental decisions at 10:00 am.

At about 10:30 Faye was completely creeped out by her waitress and had to get out of there. She made sure to tip her just incase she decided to stalk her or something. '_She looks so damn familiar'_ she thought. '_Maybe I've seen her picture somewhere?' _Faye thought that maybe she had been a bounty head or something like that. Or in one of the magazines that she had read lately. Faye decided not to think too much about it, and made her way to the decrepit city hall . 

****

Strange fascination fascinating me

Ah changes are taking the pace

I'm going through

Life could be good sometimes! Faye happily pranced down the street, people casting her strange glances as she passed. What were the chances of her already owning it. Yeah, not to mention they could confirm her name. She opened the folder of real estate documents and glanced at the name. Faye Matsura '_It's got a nice ring to it.'_ Unfortunately on the down side was that she also owed back taxes on the property for the last thirty years. That's when the last of her family had willed it to her. She really didn't want the land. She wasn't really the I'm going to build a house type. Martha Stewart she was not, but Faye Matsura she was. She liked the sound of her new real name. Nope she was going to sell the lot. They city clerk had been nice enough to give her contact information on someone who had been interested for the last ten years. Now she was on her way to seal the deal. Oh yeah, life was finally getting good. But deep down inside her old self was telling her to be smart with her soon to be new found cash. That's when she decided to start making decisions on what parts of the old Faye were going to stay and which ones were going to go. Permanently.

****

Ch-ch-changes

(turn and face the strain)

Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers

Ch-ch-changes

(turn and face the strain)

Pretty soon now you're gonna get older

With the land sale complete, she sat down in a small coffee shop to figure out her next move. The old Faye convinced her to pay off her debt , which took two thirds of it. '_Easy come, easy go'_ she sighed to herself. Ok, old Faye could be fucking smart at times she had to agree. But new Faye was more sassy. '_Sassy'_ she liked that word. So new Faye was going to stay a bounty hunter since old Faye had no other marketable skills. Right now the biggest question left on Faye's mind was were to go from here. Should she go back to the BeBop or should she go and relive some fond memories. I mean Jet was somewhat good to her, Ed was ok and she could even tolerate Ein. It was Spike whom she wanted to smother in his sleep. He was such an arrogant prick. That and the fact that he was right about the past not being as detrimental to her life as she thought it would be.

****

'_Fuck it_' she decided she wasn't returning to the BeBop. '_Besides, I could always relate to Molly Ringwald much better than I could Spike.' _ Now old Faye was telling her she'd need a place to stay and a more economical method of transportation other than the redtail. New Faye didn't want to loose the redtail. '_Why can't we all just get along?' _ So in the middle Faye decided to keep the redtail and get a cheap used car for around town. She headed into a small convenience store to get a newspaper and some more smokes. 

After four hours she finally found a place that she was happy with. Well, happy with on the budget she was willing to spend. Studio apartments were still in style and she had to be in style because she was so sassy. '_Sassy' _she remembered an old tv show with a guy that used to say that all the time. Well now miss sassy had to find a cheap heap o' shit to drive around in. She looked up at a billboard from her new apartment window, OLD EARTH AUTO sounds cheap enough. The bus ride to the car lot was quite disturbing. She did not know why she had to get stuck on a bus full of perverted old men. They were like octopuses for Christ sakes! So there she stood in front of the cheesy car lot claiming not to have cars newer than thirty years old. She stood up straight, fluffed up her hair and strode into the lot entrance hoping that because she was such a sassy bitch that she would get a discount.

****

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

I said that time may change me

But I can't trace time


	3. Runnin' down a dream

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from cowboy bebop.

Song credits for Runnin' down a dream go to Tom Petty.

****

It was a beautiful day

The sun beat down

I had the radio on, I was drivin'

The trees went by

Me and Del were singin' Little Runaway

I was flyin'

Yeah runnin' down a dream

That never would come to me

Workin' on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads

I'm runnin' down a dream

As soon as she walked through the front gate, Faye prepared for the polyester clad salesman to tackle her.

When she saw that no one had noticed her presence, she started to eye all of the cars in the lot. She started to systematically rule out the inventory. A Volkswagen Jetta with the bumpers missing, not, a Chevy cavalier with a dented hood and too many rust spots to count. Definitely not. That's when the salesman noticed her. She locked eyes with him and he was on his way. Squeezing past the Isuzu Rodeo that looked like it had been rolled over a few times too many, and the rust colored Corolla she made her way to the back of the lot. 3...2.….1.…." Can I help you?" smiled the salesman. "Yes" Faye cooed, "you most certainly may." She had already tired of his 'what would it take for me to sell you this car' routine after about two minutes.

Letting her eyes wander about the lot while he yammered on and on she spotted it. There, parked next to the detour barrel orange Topaz and the gray diesel Chevette. A faded red Dodge Shadow. It was close in color to the swordfish. Faye smiled and proceeded to make her way to it. Realizing that he was being ignored the salesman quickly gave chase. "Yes, she's a real beauty, isn't she?" the salesman quipped noticing her interest. Faye had a shadow when she was young. It was gold and a little older but the same car nonetheless. "It's got a new turbo and new shift cables" the salesman chimed in as she started to check out the body. Faye opened the driver's side door and peeked inside. That's when she noticed a green haired happy troll wearing a blue shirt and pants , that was also missing a brown eye. It was perched on the dashboard like a plastic Jesus would've been. She knew that it was karma. "I'll take it." The salesman smiled and rubbed his hands together happily.

****

I felt so good

Like anything was possible

I hit cruise control and rubbed my eyes

The last three days, the rain was unstoppable

It was always cold

No sunshine

Yeah runnin' down a dream

That never would come to me

Working on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads

I'm runnin' down a dream

Ok, so the Shadow wasn't exactly the epitome of sassy. But shit, it was a memory of her past. It was also better than any other car on the lot. Besides it came with a Spike troll. She was planning on using it as a voodoo doll. Anyway, she was sassy, thus making the Shadow sassy as well. A sort of sassy by association type of thing. That and she had gotten a great deal, 900 woolongs. '_It's amazing what a lot of cleavage can do'_ Faye thought to herself. Not to mention the complimentary cds it also came with for the ancient player in the dashboard below troll Spike. She shifted the car into fifth and gunned the engine intending to take a much needed joy ride into what was left of her past. Faye had enough money to relax a bit before having to rush out and find a bounty. So she was going to enjoy herself to the fullest. 

****

After stopping off at a market for some supplies she decided that troll Spike was going to need another eye if he planned on staying in his current spot. Faye couldn't stand looking at the thing with only one eye. So after liberating another eye (which was by coincidence a different shade than the existing one) off of a troll doll in a bargain bin in a shitty little toy store, she swiped a little toy gun from a G I Joe and made him a little cigarette to hold in his hand. Now that Spike troll's ensemble was complete she could hit the road. Navigating her way through town in an attempt to find a landmark she might recognize took over an hour, but was still quite easy. After finding the highway ramp for 195 she gave a triumphant smile and cranked up the radio. "What ever happens, happens" slipped from her lips as she sped down the highway in search of a life long gone by.

****

I rolled on, as the sky drew dark

I put the pedal down to make some time

There's something good waitin' down this road

I'm pickin' up whatever is mine

Yeah runnin' down a dream

That never would come to me

Working on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads

I'm runnin' down a dream

The sun was starting to set and Faye had already made her way to what once was Cape Cod. Planning on looking for a motel soon she happened to notice a small silhouette standing by the road. Upon close inspection the silhouette became two, a young girl with a computer on her head and a welsh corgi. She almost drove right by them at first. Slamming on the brakes the car screeched to a halt in front of the duo. "Ed?" Faye sputtered out. "Faye-Faye" squealed Ed, "you found Edward!" Ed jumped around while Ein barked in merriment. "What are you doing out here?" asked Faye. "Father person is a dead beat dad." Looking at the sad expression on Ed's face, Faye got an idea. "Do you want a ride?" "Oh, yes Faye- Faye!" screamed Ed. Ein barked his approval and they piled into the sassy mobile. While pulling out back into traffic Faye heard Ed yell over the radio, "Faye-Faye has a Spike -Person doll!" She smiled at Ed and prepared for the next path that her life was going to take in its long journey to closure.

****

Yeah I'm runnin' down a dream

That never would come to me

Working on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads

I'm runnin' down a dream


	4. A million miles away

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from the show cowboy bebop.

Song credits for A Million Miles away goes to The Plimsouls.

I'm going to try and experiment with different POV's a little, make the story more interesting perhaps.

****

Friday night, I just got back

Had my eyes shut

I was dreamin' 'bout the past

I thought about you while the radio played

I shoulda got loaded

Some reason I stayed

It had been three days since Faye and company had left the ship. Jet had stayed behind on Earth just incase they had decided to come back. Spike knew better though. Ed had gone off to find her father, Ein obviously followed. Faye, who gives a shit where Faye went. She hadn't raided the fridge or the safe, so who cared. '_Faye was a big girl'_ Spike thought to himself while sitting on the clapped out yellow couch in the common room. '_She can find her way back like she always does' _he leaned forward and grabbed his pack of smokes. '_Just like a stray dog' _he lit his cigarette and leaned back onto the couch, exhaling a puff of smoke in the process. '_The dog' _Spike smirked to himself, '_amazingly he's probably the only one I will miss' . _He dragged on his cigarette while staring up at the ever spinning ceiling fan. '_God that thing is so fucking ugly' _ Spike let out a small chuckle and returned his attention to his cigarette. When he sat and stopped to really think about it, he kind of missed Ed a little too. He hated kids, but Ed wasn't your usual kid. She was smart and naive at the same time. The childish innocence was still there for someone of her age. But she also knew how to take care of herself, and was used to being alone. He knew what that felt like, he was left to fend for himself at an early age as well.

****

I started drifting to a different place

I realized I was fallin' of the face of the world

And there was nothing there to bring you back

His thoughts drifted back to his childhood, back to a time when he first found out why his parents had died. A time when he had to move in with his aunt Anastasia. A time when joining the syndicate was the family tradition. When he promised himself that he would be more careful that his father was. That all blew up in his face. Julia came to mind as well. '_God I miss her'_ he shifted his position so that his legs now rested on the table in front of the couch. That's probably why he didn't take to Faye. It wasn't because she wasn't anything like Julia, but because she was a lot like himself. She was thick headed, she smoked way too much and she had the same once bitten twice shy type of attitude. They were both broken hearted. He hated to admit it, but he had to give Faye some credit. She'd been through hell as well. But alas there wasn't enough room on the ship for two king shits. Besides, he was here first. That and she disrupted his way of life. Since joining up with Jet he was able to live in his head as much as he wanted too. At first it was his eye that was in control of that, but he eventually was able to decide when it was time for dream land and when it wasn't. He could hear Jet clunking down the hall to the common room. Spike frowned '_ I hope he's not going to ask me to go out and look for Faye again'. _After putting out his stump of a cigarette in the ash tray on the table he looked up at the door way while starting to light another. He was going to drive him nuts if he didn't at least try to go look for her, '_tuff shit Jet'_.

Moments later Jet emerged looking very tired. He slowly made his way down the steps and walked over to the couch. "Hey" he said as he sat down next to Spike. "Hey" Spike spoke around his newly lit cigarette. Jet propped his feet up onto the table as well. '_He's going to ask me, shit'_ the green haired man thought to himself. Quickly finding something to divert Jet's attention, he turned on the tv. The sound of Big Shots blared through the ship at a very high volume. Jet leaned forward and turned down the volume as Spike pretended not to notice. "Looking for a bounty?" The older man spoke after a few seconds had passed. "We could always use the money" Spike mumbled. His partner nodded his head in agreement before getting back up an climbing the stairs back up to the hatch. " Don't go pulling that shit on me!" Spike shouted at Jet . The older man turned back to look at his partner. "What am I pulling?" he asked trying to look innocent. "That moping around and not talking shit" Spike put out what was left of his smoke. "It's not going to work." "I don't know what your talking about!" Jet shouted and proceeded to leave the room. '_Great_' the lanky man huffed to himself '_now he's going to give me the silent treatment.'_

****

Cuz you're a million miles away

A million miles away

And there's nothing there to bring you back today

Today…

After about three more hours of listening to Jet mope around the ship like a whiny little bitch, Spike sighed and finally got up the motivation to go and look around a little for the shrew. '_A few hours of looking should appease Jet ' _he surmised. Actually he wasn't really going to look for Faye so much as he was just going to find something to keep himself occupied. Who knows when Jet was finally going to take off from this wasteland called Earth anyway. It didn't look like he was in any big hurry to leave at the moment. So this was his only option. '_ If by some chance fate is really that cruel and I find Faye'_ Spike mused to himself as he made his way to the hanger '_ then I'll tell her to get her ass back to the ship'. _ He hopped up into the cockpit of the swordfish and made preparations to take off much to his chagrin. After leaving the hanger, he set out towards the nearest city in hopes of getting really drunk. 

****

I took a ride way downtown

The streets were empty

There was no one around

I went to the places that we used to go

Seen all of the faces we used to know

Spike found himself landing in a small city called Newport. He parked his ship in what looked like a safe location and headed down the street in search of a bar. On the way down the street he noticed a small string of casinos and immediately thought of Faye. '_ Dammit'_ he mentally scolded himself and kept on his already chosen path to annihilate his liver. After a few minutes he stumbled upon a bar. Spike entered, sat down and ordered a drink. While waiting for his drink, he started to debate on whether or not he should go and look for Faye. '_Shit ' _he hadn't even had a drink yet and he was already starting to feel guilty. His drink arrived, he slammed it down and ordered another. This was his course of action for the rest of the evening. Once last call had been declared, Spike decided to go for a walk to sober up a little. '_I need to straighten out enough to find my ship at least'._ He could always dodge Jet until the morning until he could tell him that he looked for Faye with a straight face. Spike went in the opposite direction as he came and made his way to the waterfront.

****

I'm at the wrong end of the looking glass

I tried to hold onto the hand of the past

And then you

And there's nothing to bring you back

Walking along the wooden boardwalk he gazed out at the ocean. It was very beautiful, a reflective ink black set against a blackish blue starlit sky. Every so often a shower of meteors would rain down in the distance. He stopped and leaned himself against the railing and looked out at the waves. Fishing through his jacket he found his pack of cigarettes. '_ I bet this place was heaven before the gate exploded'_ he said to himself as he lit his cigarette. _' Back in Faye's time'_ Spike shook his head '_ stop thinking about Faye'. _ As fucked up as he was he still kept thinking about that stupid woman. He was supposed to be always thinking of his woman, his Julia. The woman of his dreams, dreams he liked his dreams of Julia. This made him smile. She was the only thing that kept his self destructive attitude in check. But since Faye forcefully joined the crew he used his competitiveness with her to keep himself motivated. '_Man, I'm really gone aren't I?' _he thought as he tossed his smoke into the water below. Using Faye as an excuse to not run in front of a train was really hitting rock bottom. It wasn't that she herself prevented him from ending it, it was more a case of not wanting to let her win his spot of dominance on the ship. It was the natural pecking order on the ship and not Faye that kept him in check.This thought perked him up a bit. 

Once his head had cleared enough to attempt flying, Spike made his way back to his ship. Not being able to make peace with himself he decided to stop to look in one casino on the way back. '_Stupid wench' _was all he could muster as his excuse for his new found if only temporary compassion. _' It's only for Jet'_ was what his mind used as his defense for his actions. He stopped in front of the first casino he came to, he paused before entering. A lazy smirk formed on his face as he remembered the first time he met Faye in a casino. How she skillfully cheated him the whole game '_ and I let her too'_ Then when she escaped form her toilet prison to only steal their money. '_That time I wasn't fully prepared' _Spike told himself. She always could get the best of him when she wanted to. That's another thing that he had to give her credit for. '_Ok, maybe it's a little for me too'_ were his last thoughts to himself as he went into the building. 

**__**

Cuz you're a million miles away

A million miles away

And there's nothing to bring you back today

Today……


	5. Once in a lifetime pt 1

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from the show cowboy bebop.

Song credits for once in a lifetime go to the Talking Heads.

****

And you may find yourself living in a shot gun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

The sun was starting to set, casting it's orange rays of light across the weathered deck of the BeBop. Jet stood at the window, staring down at the smiley face that was Ed's good bye. It had been three days since the girls and the dog had left his care. '_Three days'_ he absently grabbed a cigarette from his almost empty pack and proceeded to light it. Jet wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to this turn of events. He knew that he missed them, but why? Ed was a given, she was like a daughter to him. As corny as it sounded in his mind, she really was. It had pumped him up to see that her real father had taken off in a flash and left her behind. Leaving her to rely on Jet again . He had felt like he was much more of a father to her then her real one. It was wrong to think that way, but he did. The dog was next on the list . He liked having a dog. Ein wasn't the type of dog he would have picked himself, but he was smart and loyal. He was actually excited when Spike brought him back to the ship after losing Hakeem.

****

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself…..well…..how did I get here?

It kind of seemed impolite to put the dog on the list of who he was going to miss most above Faye, but it was the truth. Faye was alright when she wanted to be. She had a big fucking mouth and a poor attitude. But then again, so did Spike. She was kind of a female version of Spike. That's probably why he could never really kick her off the ship. He could never do it to Spike either. '_I guess it's because I never got to have a family of my own'._ Tapping the ash off of his cigarette he took another drag. He had adopted this strange surrogate family in the place of a real one and now they were gone just as soon as they had come. Ed wasn't coming back. This he knew for certain. Unfortunately he had gotten a good glimpse of the happiness on her face as her father threw her up into the air. He had heard the unmistakable sounds of laughter as she screamed for him to do it again. It was sad and it was true, but she really did belong with Apple what's his face. 

That left Jet to ponder about Faye. '_ Where the fuck was she_?' All of her things had been taken from her room. All except the tv and beta player, those were the last things he thought that she would leave behind. Especially since she could have sold them for money. But she had indeed left them. She didn't rob the safe either. '_Strange'_ was his only thought. He knew that she had taken Ed with her the first time that she bailed. Then she left before Ed had the second time. This was also confirmed by Spike. Ein had taken off after Ed. All that was left of his family, and he used the word family very loosely, was a suicidal gangster turned suicidal slacker and himself. An odd pair they were in it self, even without the rest. But after having the rest, it just didn't seem the same without them. They all had had something in common that kept them together for the past two years. All of them looking for something that was different, but also the same. Dropping his butt to the deck floor, he ground it out with his boot and decided to go and bug Spike. He had been trying to get king lazy ass to go and look for Faye for two days now with no avail. Spike definitely needed a fire lit under his ass to get him to do anything. '_ Fire, shit that kid needs a fucking nuclear explosion'_ Jet chuckled to himself. Jet wasn't going to go and look for Ed, she knew how to find the ship if she wanted to. She had tracked them through space for months before joining the crew. But he did want Spike to go and give a look for Faye. Something was either wrong or she was up to something. He wanted to know what was going on, and who better to send than Spike. The former cop put on his best depressed face and headed for the common room. There was no doubt that Spike would be sprawled out on the couch, searching for the meaning of life in the ceiling fan.

****

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by/water flowing under ground

Into the blue again/once the money's gone

Once in a lifetime/water flowing under ground

As he made his way towards the hatch that led to the common room, Jet heard Spike groan and shift to a sitting position on the couch. '_I knew it'_ wiping the smirk off of his face, he entered the room. Spike was in the process of lighting a cigarette when he looked up to make eye contact with his partner. "Hey" said the older man as he sat down on the couch noticing it was still warm from Spike's previous occupancy. A muffled "Hey" was returned around the newly lit cigarette in Spike's mouth. He knew that he was making his partner sweat. This had been the case for the last day and a half. Jet would try and make Spike feel guilty and go and look for Faye. Spike was good at dodging his tactics, but he knew that eventually he would win. Jet propped his feet up on the table '_Oh look' _he noticed his comrade making a move with his foot to turn on the tv. _'Impressive move'_ he filed that one away for his own personal use later. As soon as Spike's foot made contact with the power button the cheesy music from Big Shots at almost full volume echoed through the ship. '_Well, that won't do'_ and with that Jet turned down the volume so he could talk to Spike. When he noticed the small slightly nervous twitch starting to form in the green haired mans left eye, he took his chance "looking for a bounty?" Spike shot him a {who? me?} glance and then proceeded to nod his head in agreement. "We could always use the money" he responded . '_alright, try this on for size'_ Jet stood up and let out an exasperated sigh as he turned to leave the room. When he had almost made it to the stairs he was abruptly stopped by the annoyed whine of Spike. " Don't go pulling that shit on me!" He turned around barely containing the smirk that was building up. "What am I pulling?" was his retort. " That moping around and not talking shit" Spike quickly replied. " I don't know what your talking about !" With that Jet walked up the stairs and out of the room. A broad grin forming on his face as he heard his partners even louder groan over the sound of the tv. '_Another point for the Black Dog' _ he continued to walk down the corridor and then disappeared into his bonsai room. 

****

And you may ask yourself

How do I work this?

And you may ask yourself

Where is that large automobile?

It was over three hours later that Jet finally heard the swordfish leave the BeBop. '_About fucking time'_ he smiled to himself as he clipped another branch off of the bonsai tree that sat in front of him. Jet absently wondered why he got into bonsai for a hobby. Even though it was really relaxing and he really enjoyed it. He didn't quite remember how he got started or how long he had been doing it. He knew that he had never done it while he was on the police force. Or when he still lived with Alysa. The first memories he had of botanical interests were when he first teamed up with Spike. '_Come to think of it, Spike probably drove me to it'_ a slight snort exiting his mouth '_with all of the stress that kid gives me'. _He had been revaluating his life a lot in the past few days. The newly found silence gave him time to think. '_Too much time'_. Jet had been trying to come up with rational explanations for the last five years of his life. Why the hell he became a bounty hunter in the first place? Shit, he could of become a florist. Why the hell did he let a woman who made them loose all of their money, then steal what they rightfully blackmailed stay on his ship? Maybe it was because she was physically appealing. Maybe it was because she had a lot of balls and that was something he tended to respect in people. Maybe it was because she could piss Spike off to no end with so little effort. '_That's it'_ he could never get a rise out of Spike the way Faye could. What was the excuse for Ed? That was easy, Ed was very smart and very appreciative. She was really the only one that actually gave him any respect. It was really very funny that the only one that treated him as the authority figure that he was supposed to be was a thirteen year old girl. That's probably why he was going to miss her the most. He put down his clippers and stared at the metal wall. 

****

And you may tell yourself

This is not my beautiful house!

And you may tell yourself

This is not my beautiful wife!

It was then that he realized that his life was about to take another drastic change. He didn't know if he could really go back to a life with just him and Spike again. He had gotten so used to the everyday distractions caused by the girls and the dog . Jet didn't know if he could handle Spike's shit on a daily basis anymore. When the ship was full it gave him something to do. Something to take his mind off of the fact that he really was going nowhere in life. He was the one who kept the peace and order on the ship, just like when he was a cop. Jet liked being the one who made all of the life altering decisions. Decisions, he liked making decisions for other people. He was the one that was needed to intervene when a potential calamity was about to occur. The one to decide when and if intervention was needed. Times when even though it would be hysterical and of no personal injury to him. Like when he caught Faye putting nair in Spike's shampoo. Even though the outcome probably would have been fucking hilarious, he needed to intervene. He was the one who came to the rescue when Spike pissed in Faye's apple juice and tried to put it back in the fridge. They needed him to keep the order around here. He enjoyed being the leader. Now he was just going to be the leader of himself and occasionally Spike. '_Where did it all go?' _he released a deep sigh '_ One day it was here and the next it was gone'._

****

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by/water flowing under ground

Into the blue again/once the money's gone

Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground

Jet stood up and exited the room and made his way to the kitchen. He was definitely in need of a few beers at the moment '_if there's any left after Spike'_. After Jet had found said beers he changed direction and headed towards the common room. Upon entering the room he walked over to the couch and proceeded to casually lift up the middle cushion. He reached underneath and after a few failed attempts he victoriously pulled out a pack of cigarettes. _' Gee, thanks Spike'_ a smile spread across his face as he pictured his partner stumbling in drunk at three in the morning reaching for his hidden pack only to find nothing. Jet had learned of this spot from Faye. It was another of those instances when he had to intervene. She was in the process of stealing them and he had caught her in the act. So after she had left the room defeated, the older man had gone and grabbed them for himself. That was another thing that Jet was needed for, determining when a scapegoat was needed and whom it should be. On that particular occasion Faye was the one to draw the proverbial short straw. Those were just some of the things that he was going to miss. After a long pause Jet finally opened a beer and sat back on the couch. He lit up one of his newly acquired cigarettes and put his feet up on the table. It was funny how a year or so ago he would have savored this moment, but now it only depressed him. Sitting here by himself on the couch should have been like heaven. Trying to enjoy the peace and quiet before Spike started screaming at Faye. Before Faye bitched about having no hot water. Before Ed decided to come flying into the room and use his lap as a springboard to get her to the pipes overhead. No this wasn't like heaven, it was like an eternal hell. A hell with just him and Spike. He didn't want to be in hell with just Spike. Jet gulped down his first beer and then opened his second '_ Why can't things go back to the way they were?'_

****

Same as it ever was…..same as it ever was…..same as it ever was

Same as it ever was….same as it ever was…..same as it ever was


	6. Once in a lifetime pt 2

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from the show Cowboy Bebop.

Song credits for once in a life time go to the Talking Heads.

****

Water dissolving……and water removing

There is water at the bottom of the ocean

After he finished his three beers and about ten cigarettes, Jet decided to watch some tv. The silence in the ship was deafening and he needed a distraction desperately. He grabbed the remote favoring this means of turning on the screen rather than Spike's foot method. It was just better for the equipment. '_Shit, it's better for the equipment if Spike never went anywhere near it'_ Jet cringed as he thought of his technologically impaired partner and his usual treatment of all things electronic. Even the more precious than gold swordfish could not escape the wrath of Spike the god of destruction. '_As if kicking everything is the answer'. _Although when he thought about it, Faye wasn't too far behind. '_Faye'_ he hoped that Spike would find out something '_ I wonder if he's having any luck?'_ he hadn't checked in yet, so that meant he either hadn't found her yet or he was too drunk to figure out how to use the communicator. '_Or both'_ trying to push those thoughts out of his mind and relax, Jet began to perform the age old art of channel surfing. This is when he realized all of the pointless shit that they put on tv. When in real life would you see a woman in an evening dress getting all excited about a pasta pot with holes in the lid? That wasn't as good as the woman that could telepathically talk to your pets though. Now that was entertainment. After another twenty minutes Jet finally settled on an old gangster movie. He had seen it a million times before but it was still as good as the first time he had seen it. He especially loved the part when the guy had to give the bosses wife the adrenaline shot after she overdosed on heroin. It made him jump every time. '_You can't beat the classics'_ a small smile spread across his face as he got himself comfortable on the couch. 

****

Remove the water, carry the water

Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean

Jet was roused from his alcohol induced slumber by the sound of something crashing on the deck of the ship. He gave a confused glance around the room. Once he had gotten his bearings, he realized that he was still on the couch in front of the tv. '_Mmm..'_ scratching the top of his head as he stood up '_I must have dozed off'_. As he bent down to turn off the tv, another loud crash was heard coming from the deck. Jet trotted up the steps and made his way towards the hanger to investigate. After opening the now dented doors that led out onto the deck, he was greeted by the smashed nose of the swordfish. On the deck a few feet away was the pilot, taking a piss over the side of the BeBop. Turning his head in both disapproval and the fact that he didn't want to see Spike's wang, Jet waited for his obviously inebriated partner to finish his business before making his way over. "So, how did you make out?" boomed Jet when he was about three feet away from Spike. The younger man nearly jumped out of his skin before turning to find the source of the noise. "Fuck, don't do that!" the lanky cowboy responded after he had had time to compose himself. "Well?" Jet asked impatiently. "Well…." Spike stopped to light up a cigarette making the slightly agitated man in front of him start tapping his foot while waiting for an answer. After a dramatic pause he exhaled and finished his sentence. "I didn't find shit." The older man's shoulders slumped. Feeling no further need to carry on a conversation with Spike, Jet slowly turned around and walked back past the crumpled monoracer and back into the ship.

It had been a good hour or so before Spike gave up the effort and decided to get the swordfish into the hanger in the morning. He laboriously made his way to the common room. The lumpy yellow couch was a god send after facing the perils of the mesmerizing rotating hallway. While plopping on his stomach onto the couch he reached under the cushion for his hidden stash of smokes. His brows furrowed in first confusion and then anger as he met with no success. '_Fucking Faye'_ was the only rational thought to come to his head. That stupid bitch always fucking did this and he was just as stupid for not finding a new spot. Letting a low growl escape from his mouth, he turned over onto his back and looked up at the fan. '_ You're my only friend Mr. Fan'_ smiling at his favorite listener on the ship and at the same time regretting his earlier comment about it's appearance. '_Sorry about what I said about you being ugly' _he paused as if waiting for his apology to be accepted. When he was sure that all was forgiven his smile returned. '_You'd never steal my smokes would you?' _

****

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by/water flowing underground

Into the blue again/once the money's gone

Once in a lifetime/water flowing under ground

__

No one could or would completely understand the bond between Spike and the fan. It was a constant joke to Faye and Jet. But he didn't care, Mr. Fan knew about his whole life. Every little detail that Spike would divulge. The fan wouldn't judge his actions or call him lunkhead. It all started by innocently counting the revolutions out of sheer boredom. Then it slowly progressed to a sounding board for all of Spike's problems he didn't want anyone to hear. Mr. Fan never disagreed and he never complained. Sometimes Mr. Fan would even talk back. Usually only when Spike was drunk or stoned. Spike wanted to see if this was one of those times. He needed to get out what was going on in his head. '_What do you think about all of this?' _ The fan turned a few times and the drunk cowboy nodded his head in agreement. _' Yeah, me too' _ Mr. Fan was apparently going to miss his newly departed shipmates just as much as Mr. Spiegel was. '_But why?'_ once again the fan responded via several clockwise turns. '_Well I guess that's my reason also'_ Spike let out a sigh as he realized along with the fan that he liked being around Faye and company. They kept him from thinking about his past. He dwelled way too much on things and the distractions of the circus chimps that doubled as his shipmates helped to keep in a little more grounded. There was no time to replay past events over in his eye when he had Ed running around with Ein nipping at her heels. Even Faye could snap him out of a unwanted reverie with ease. Now he was just going to have to let the days pass one at a time like he used to before. Before the kid, the beast and the tomboy came into his poor excuse for a life. '_Goodnight Mr. Fan'_ a somewhat sad expression played across his face as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

****

Into the blue again/once the money's gone

Under the rocks and stones/there is water under ground

While laying on his back in bed Jet listened to Spike's failed attempts at getting the swordfish into the hanger. '_Stupid shit'_ rolling over onto his side '_there's going to be nothing left of it to fix'. _This was just a preview of what was to come. How long was he going to be able to stand this shit. After about an hour his partner gave up the battle and quiet once more returned. That was until he heard Spike clomping through the halls at a painstakingly slow pace. '_Fucking kid sounds like a sasquatch'_ he turned onto his other side so that he faced the wall. On the wall was a picture of the crew, taken with all of them posed on top of the swordfish. He remembered when it was taken a year ago. It was after a bounty that they actually did catch. His real hand reached out and touched the photograph. A sad smile spread across his features. '_I sure hope that you three are ok'_ the smile was now gone and a small tear escaped from his left eye. Thank god no one was here to see this. The black dog cry. He had only done it a few times in his adult life. But it just seemed right to do it now. After letting his hand drop from the picture he pulled the covers up around his neck. '_You know that you'll always have a home here'._ With that last thought he fell asleep hoping that tomorrow would be a better day. 

****

And you may ask yourself

What is that beautiful house?

And you may ask yourself

Where does that highway go?

The blinding light of morning filtered through the dirty windows of the BeBop. It seemed as if the crust built up on them helped to concentrate the little beams of light, turning them into high powered lasers and shooting them straight into Spike's skull. The lanky figure that was sprawled out like a collapsed spider on the couch groaned and shifted to his stomach. Hearing some signs of life Jet peered out of the kitchen to see that the mass of limbs he regarded as his partner had shifted his position. '_Wait until he sees the swordfish'_ the older man let out a chuckle. Spike could deal with it on his own. Jet had things to do. First off they needed to leave Earth. There wasn't enough money to just hang around. Even though his first instinct had been to stay and wait incase anyone had changed their minds. But now even though he didn't like the idea he knew that his missing crew could find the ship if they left the planet. He would just stop by the nearest town before they left for some supplies. All they currently had were eggs and beer. They were in dire need of toilet paper too. Spike had a knack for using it all up. He took as long in the shitter as Faye took in the shower. Although, most of the duration of time that those two spent in their designated areas was really spent getting high. Jet liked going into the bathroom when Faye was done to get a contact high. Before Faye he was forced to sneak into Spike's room and steal some of his stash. He would be damned if he was going to try and get a contact high out of the toilet. But with Faye he had the added option of stealing from Faye's stash and letting Spike take the fall. Another one of those times when he needed to make the scapegoat decision. He made his way to the hanger hoping that Spike's ship wasn't too close to the doors that he couldn't get his hammerhead out.

After landing in a waterfront town that reminded him of Ganymede, he looked around for a grocery store. Passing by small shops he kept an eye out for his missing shipmates. He had made sure to give a quick look into all of the casinos that he passed. No computer store was left unturned Every time a dog would bark his eyes would search for its source. About two blocks away from the grocery store on the opposite side of the street stood a small pet store. Jet looked into the window as he passed and found himself eye to eye with a tan and white welsh corgi. It actually took ten minutes for him to pull himself away and proceed to the grocery store. Once everything that was on the list had been purchased, the balding man found himself in front of the pet store once more. A smile started to form at the corners of his mouth. He opened the door and disappeared inside. He could be seen through the window smiling and petting the small dog while talking to the sales clerk.

****

And you may ask yourself

Am I right?……Am I wrong?

And you may say to yourself

MY GOD!……WHAT HAVE I DONE?

'_Wet…..something wet……something making my hand wet'_ conscious thought was very hard for the severely hung over cowboy. He thought that he must still be dreaming. It felt like Ein was licking his hand. But Ein was gone, wasn't he? A cinnamon colored eye sprang open to survey the scene. There still in the act of licking his palm was indeed a tan and white corgi. The other eye then opened to confirm that this was not an illusion. Spike lifted his head up slightly and let out a confused "Ein?" The dog stopped it's licking and looked at the owner of the hand . A loud but amused "No" traveled from the direction of the kitchen. Both bounty hunter and pooch looked in the direction of the voice. Jet emerged from the doorway wearing his apron and made his way to the couch. The dog happily wagged it's tale and left the bewildered Spike. It sat down in front of Jet and let out a small bark. He knelt down and patted it on the head. "This is Olivia" the older man proudly exclaimed. Struggling to get himself into a sitting position. "Olivia?" the younger man asked, "and where did Olivia come from exactly?" "Olivia came from the pet store" Jet turned on his heal and went back into the kitchen. Not wanting to discuss the matter anymore with his dazed partner. Spike looked at the dog and let out a low grunt. "We're taking off in twenty minutes, so I suggest that you put what's left of the swordfish into the hanger". The green haired man winced as he thought back to the night before. '_Oh well' _Spike stretched as he stood up '_Jet and Olivia can fix it'. _He started towards the hanger making a short stop at the toilet on the way.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by/water flowing under ground

Into the blue again/once the money's gone

Once in a lifetime/water flowing under ground

Same as it ever was……same as it ever was…….same as it ever was

Same as it ever was……same as it ever was…….same as it ever was

Time isn't holding us, time isn't after us

Time isn't holding us, time doesn't hold you back

Letting the days go by……….


	7. Destination Unknown

I do not own or claim to own any of the characters from the show Cowboy Bebop.

Song credits for Destination Unknown go to Missing Persons.

Thank you for the nice reviews! 

I had a hard time deciding on how to write this chapter. I tried to write it kind of child like, the way Ed talks on the series. But it just didn't seem right. I guess the angle I ended up using is Ed acting a little more grown up. She is displaying the habits she picked up from everyone. So the writing is going to be just like the other chapters with Ed's actions and dialog being just a tad more grown up than the show. I emphasize the word "tad". I'm saying that she's really 13 or 14 but acts a little childish in my story. Also if your actually reading this poor attempt at a story, you might want to give a listen to the actual song I use. It's so truly Ed.

****

Life is so strange

When you don't know

How can you tell

Where your going to?

The redtail faded away into the distance and then twinkled out like a shooting star. '_Faye-Faye is gone' _Ed blinked and then turned to Ein. She lifted up her right hand and stared at the pinwheel Faye had given her. She was going to miss Faye. Yeah sure she wasn't always nice to Ed, but she provided Ed with a little more insight and support on being of the female gender than Spike and Jet could. If it wasn't for Faye, Ed never would have gotten the feminine supplies that she so desperately needed on a monthly basis. Her mind zoomed back to the unmasked look of horror Spike had given her when she had asked him once to go and get her some tampons. If they had been planet side she would have done it herself. Faye had been out on one of her benders and left Ed with nothing to use. Although to this day she wasn't sure if Spike was horrified at the fact that she had asked him, or if it was the fact that she was actually old enough to need them. It seemed as though everyone thought of her as an eight year old or something. Just because she acted silly didn't mean she wasn't capable of puberty, did it? Obviously mother nature hadn't thought so. She let a small smile form on her face and then thought back to Faye's last words. She was right, Ed did have some where that she belonged. Her father had left her behind though. Edward didn't know where he had gone to. She figured that if she tracked the largest meteor showers she could probably catch up. Taking one last glimpse at the sky, Ed made up her mind. She was going to go and find her father.

****

Something could change

And then you won't know

Heading into the ship for her belongs, which weren't much, Ed happened upon Spike sitting on the couch. He looked like shit, her father had fucked him up pretty good. A smirk appeared on her face as she remembered the days events. She really shouldn't laugh, but it was so funny to see her father kick Spike's ass. That's why she let her dad work him over a bit before intervening. She had nothing against Spike, it was Spike's mightier than thou attitude. When it came down to it, anyone in general with that attitude in life needed a good reality check once in a while. You know to keep their head swelling to a minimum. Spike's tended to inhibit him from getting through the door way at times. It was either that or his hair. On second thought, she was one to talk. Her hair was only two sizes away from Spike-ness. But hey, she was only a child, she could still get away with it. Judging by the fact that he wasn't doing cartwheels around the room meant that he obviously didn't know about Faye's departure and if she had it her way, he wouldn't know about hers until she was long gone. Ed hated goodbyes. As she approached Spike he looked up at her with a sad look on his face. '_Probably a bruised ego'_ Ed assumed. She felt sorry for him, so she gave him her pinwheel. That way he could remember her and Faye at the same time. He took it from her and just stared at it. '_Poor pathetic Spike-person' _she shook her head and looked down at Ein for a moment then remembered what she was doing in the first place. Ed had a short attention span so she often forgot what she was doing . Especially when she got distracted by too many things at once. But hey, they say that Einstein couldn't boil water. 

After all of her things were gathered, Ed decided to leave a note so that Jet wouldn't worry. She didn't have the heart to look at him before she left. He was good to her and seeing his face as she got ready to leave would only stop her progress. Not being your average girl, she couldn't just leave your average note. Feeling the need to do something Ed-centric, she dug around the hanger for something useful. Rummaging through a box she found a can of touch up paint for the swordfish. Spinning the can in her hand to see the label, she noticed it read "magnificent melon" '_and Spike-person says that it's red'_ rolling her eyes at Spike's apparent color blindness she went out onto the deck. About ten minutes later she stood on the deck proud of herself and of her biggest trademark smiley to date, if you didn't count the one she had MPU make. Conveniently depicted in permanent paint. '_That should get their attention'. _With that out of the way, she tossed the can back into the hanger and stopped to give the BeBop one last look. Grabbing her back pack and her tomato, she began to walk in the opposite direction of the ship. 

A few minutes into her journey something caught her attention. As she looked back at her former home she could hear the sound of barking getting louder. She squinted and sure enough there was Ein running as fast as his stubby little legs would go. Once he had caught up to her she let him catch his doggy breath before she began to scold him. "No Ein, you belong here" receiving a whine in response she continued "go back to the ship". The dog wouldn't hear any of it. "Ed might never be coming back" The dog still wouldn't budge. The little girl bent down and looked at her best friend. "do you want to come with Ed?" Being the incredible genius that he was, Ein nodded his head in agreement. A large smile formed on Ed's face and she turned facing her previous direction. With out another word, child and dog started the long trek to civilization. Ein stole one last glimpse of the BeBop before it disappeared over the horizon.

****

(ask yourself) Where do we go from here?

It seems so all too near

Just as far beyond as I can see

I still don't know what this all means to me

It had been three days since Ed and Ein had left the ship and still no sign of her father. They had sought shelter in different abandoned buildings along the way. She was tired and hungry. Having no money meant that this was going to be the case for a while. Ed hated to admit it to herself, but her dad obviously really didn't care about her as much as he thought he did. As much as she thought he did for that matter. Even with her never ending adolescent optimism, she was getting worn down. This was Ed's worst wake up call yet. The call that reminded her that life wasn't all puppies and flowers. This was the side of life that her adult shipmates dwelled on. Ed didn't like this part of life. Yeah, she knew it existed, but she tried to ignore it as much as possible. She was a kid for Christ sakes, this wasn't the kind of reality that a kid should have to deal with. Even though at times she thought that she was the smartest human on the ship. Without her Spike would still be kicking the computer to get information out of it. Faye would still be yelling at Spike to hurry up and get it done, and Jet would be still screaming at them to grow up. So in retrospect, Ed was probably the most realistic one on the ship. But this was different, this wasn't really a reality check. This was more of a feeling of not being needed. Her father didn't need her technical advice like the Bebop had. What it all boiled down to in the end was rejection and rejection sucked in a big way. Especially when it was rejection from your own flesh and blood. What made it worse was the fact that her flesh and blood preferred mapping meteors to his own daughters company. '_What an asshole'_ was Ed's only opinion at the moment. Even Spike had been more fatherly. 

****

I don't know where to go

I don't know what to do

And I don't even know the time of day

I guess it doesn't matter anyway

While laying on her back and looking at the sky, she decided that they should get going soon. The sun was starting to set and they still had to find a place to stay for the night. Letting out a tired sigh she pulled herself off of the ground and gathered her things. She gently nudged Ein from his nap and strapped on her pack. The two lost souls trudged their way across the field they were just resting in towards the highway. Ed hoped to maybe find some loose change on the road. Her stomach ached and her feet were sore. At this rate she wasn't going to make much farther. She fought back the tears that threatened to come. They wouldn't do her any good. You couldn't eat them. Ed had tried eating grass along side Ein, but it wasn't very filling. '_ It needs garlic'. _She needed some sugar or something. Something to power her through another day. Feeling the need to rest yet again, Ed stopped in her tracks and watched the passing traffic. Ein sat down next to her feet and looked up at his sad companion. The cars whizzed by kicking up dust and debris into Ed's face. This was reality all right and reality apparently wasn't going to be making friends anytime soon with Ed. '_Reality bites!'._

****

Life is so strange

Destination unknown

When you don't know

You're destination

Something could change

It's unknown

And then you won't know

Destination unknown

Resisting the urge to throw herself in front of the next moving car, Ed stood up and placed her tomato back on her head. Getting ready to continue her journey, she decided that they should cross the street. She waited for the cars to pass before stepping foot in the breakdown lane. Preparing to make a run for it across the busy highway she heard a god awful noise at an excruciatingly high volume. Pausing to find the source of the disturbance, she directed her attention up the road. Coming over the horizon was what looked like one of the first cars every built. It was apparently traveling at a high rate of speed as well. Ed absently noted that from afar, it was sort of the same color as Spike's ship. Just when Ed was about to slip into one of those flashback sequences you see in old movies at the thought of Spike and all things BeBop, she was snapped into the present by the squeal of brakes. Closing her eyes she patiently waited for the impact '_God, it's Edward, I'll be there soon'. _

"Ed?" a familiar voice shouted over the racket of the cars radio, apparently that hideous sound was meant to be music. Ed opened her eyes slowly to see the owner of the voice. The occupant of the Model T/swordfish mobile thing looked like Faye. It couldn't of been Faye, could it? Ed farted just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Ein sniffed into the air in the direction of Ed's outburst of sorts, no she wasn't dreaming. "Faye-Faye" she squealed "you found Edward!". The dog did his little circle dance and barked for dramatic effect. "What are you doing out here?" Faye questioned. Ed and Ein both simultaneously lowered their heads as if they had just been punished. "Father-person is a dead beat dad?" exclaimed Edward. Ein whined as if it would get the point across any better. Ed had to give him an A for effort. After what seemed like an eternity Faye finally turned down the radio to a more tolerable volume and asked Ed, "do you want a ride?" A ride, a ride, did Edward want a ride out of the shit hole of a country side? What was Faye on, crack? Damn skippy she wanted a ride! '_Wait' _chiding herself from almost blowing her cover '_remember to_ _play the poor defenseless kid angle!' "_ Oh yes Faye-Faye" Ed replied with her best friend barking in delight at her feet. Faye smiled and unlocked the passenger side door for Ed. It would be nice actually riding inside of the car instead of the trunk this time around. After everyone was in their appropriate seats, Faye cranked the radio once more and gunned the car back down the highway. She threw a few candy bars and some drinks into the back seat for her weary passengers. 

****

When will my time come?

Has it all been said and done?

Once Ed had inhaled her first meal since leaving the ship, she noticed a troll like doll riding shot gun on the dashboard. It was kind of dressed like Spike, it even had mismatched brown eyes. Upon further inspection, it also had a toy gun and a cigarette in it's hands. "Faye-Faye has a Spike-person doll!" the red headed child screamed to Faye over the radio. Faye just smiled back at her in the rear view mirror. Ed then turned her attention back to Ein, who was attempting to get his head out of the window Ed had rolled down slightly. She smiled and rolled the window down enough for the both of them to hang their heads out. Ed didn't know where Faye was headed and she really didn't care. All she knew was that she would stay with Faye until she either kicked her out of the car, or when Ed felt it was time to move on.

****

I know I'll leave when it's my time to go

Til' then I'll carry on with what I know

Life is so strange

Destination unknown

When you don't know

Your destination

Something could change

It's unknown

And then you won't know

Destination unknown

Life is so strange (life is so strange)

Life is so strange (life is so strange)

I know it was kind of rushed, but I wanted to get this out while most of it was still fresh in my head. I find when I wait too long in between chapters, I tend to forget what I wrote. Also if Ed's dialog is off from the original end of hard luck women, it's because I was just too lazy to put the dvd in and write down what she said. Sorry! This will be the last chapter dealing with the original end of the series. Even though it was wonderfully done, I some how feel like I got robbed at the end. So, I'll just change it for my own pleasure.

****


	8. Perfect Day

Yeah, yeah I don't own bebop. If I did I wouldn't be driving a dodge shadow with a Spike action figure perched on the dash board like a plastic jesus! I'd be driving a viper instead . 

Thanks for the reviews! They keep me motivated. I hope that I did a good job at Ed. You'd think that she'd be the easiest to write for. But believe it or not she's the hardest for me. Actually I find Spike the easiest, maybe it's all the angst in my system?!?! This chapter really doesn't go anywhere. It was needed to get everyone on the same day in the next chapter. It kind of like a preview for Faye and Ed, giving you a glimpse of the time that they're going to have together. I hope that it doesn't suck too bad.

Song credits for Perfect Day go to Lou Reed.

****

Just a perfect day

Drink sangria in the park

And then later when it gets dark

We go home

About a half an hour down the highway the motley crew in the shadow took the next available exit. "Faye-Faye?" came a small voice from the back seat. Faye turned down the radio so that she could hear what Ed was saying. "Faye-Faye what's Province Town?" The older woman smirked at the question. She knew what the location was once notorious for. Many a teenage summer vacation was spent frolicking on the beaches of P Town, as it was called by the locals. The town was a haven for homosexuality in a time when it was still struggling to be accepted. Faye and her friends would party all day on the beach and then party all night at the clubs. The drag shows were the best. It was sort of like Callisto, only with women. That's probably why Faye had taken to Callisto. "It used to be a vacation spot" not wanting to have to teach Ed the ways of same sex relationships just yet. Besides, it might not be the same anymore. It would be a pity though, it was a fucking fun place. "Alright!" obviously Ed was up to a vacation. They both needed it any way. When she had picked up the two of them, they had looked extremely worn down. That was very unlike Ed. She always had a flicker of optimism in her eyes no matter what the situation. This time though, she looked like she was going to jump in front of a car and end it all. As tragic as Faye liked to portray herself, it wasn't healthy for a young girl to be like that.

****

She hadn't planned on picking up any passengers but for these two she would make an exception. The fact that they hadn't chosen to go back to the ship puzzled her a little as well. Like the nun had said, Ed was like a stray cat, wandering to and fro. She would make it a point to ask what had happened later on. "Are you still hungry Ed?" Faye looked into the rear view mirror as she waited for a response. "Yep, yep" she giggled, "Edward is sooooo hungry". As too make the point clearer she rubbed her tummy and hung her tongue out of her mouth like a dog. Ein barked his two cents in as well. It was settled then, next stop food! As Faye made her way through the intersection, she was abruptly cut off by a purple and green zebra striped Cadillac. You know the type with the dingle balls suspended from the ceiling and fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. As if it wasn't enough that she had just gotten cut off, the car then stopped in the middle of the intersection giving Faye only a foot or two to stop. As she slammed on the brakes, she could hear the loud thump of Ed and Ein being slammed into the back of her seat. The shadow stopped only two inches from the caddy. Faye released her death grip on the steering wheel and looked into the back seat to see if her cargo was alright. Seeing that they were just a little shaken up she returned her attention to the car in front of her, taking a moment to notice how close they were to each other. '_ Thank god for ABS'. _ Straightening her hair band that had fallen out of place from the panic stop, she then proceeded to exit the vehicle to administer an ass kicking to the driver of said Cadillac. 

****

Just a perfect day

Feed the animals in the zoo

Then later a movie too

And then home

When she had fully gotten out of the car she stood herself up straight and prepared to start shouting, but before she could get a single word out the driver of the other car started to yell at her. "What the fuck yo think you doin'?" Taken back by the appearance of the man in front of her, she tried extremely hard not to laugh. Obviously the occupant of the car was a pimp. Complete with a purple pimpin hat that was complemented with a green faux pheasant feather, a plethora of gold and diamond rings, a purple suede leisure suit and lime green shiny leather shoes. The mouth full of gold teeth just added to the glamour of the whole ensemble. "Yo crazy bitch!" he was apparently under the assumption that the near collision was Faye's fault. '_I don't think so super fly'_ she was going to have to straighten his ass out. "Yo done cut me off!" The little vein in his forehead was starting to poke out, "Yous betta not a scratched my cah!". Obviously hooked on phonics hadn't worked for him. 

" Listen Tyrone, you were the one who ran the light, not me!" This was not what he wanted to hear. He started to stomp his feet the way Spike did when he didn't get his way. '_Men are such babies'._ This one was an asshole for pulling a stunt like that. He could of killed someone. If she had been going a little faster, Ed would have been badly hurt. She found it odd that the first thing on her mind was Ed and not herself. Faye felt the need to express her anger over the pimp putting Ed in harms way. Usually she would have just been upset about her car almost getting crushed. Maybe even play the 'hey that scratch wasn't there before' game. But all that was going through her head was that she was responsible for Ed. "Listen, you just endangered the lives of my passengers because of your ignorance!" That sent him over the edge, "Ignant, ignant!" shaking his head in disapproval at Faye he continued, "Who yo callin ignant?". He did a customary neck roll and finished his sentence "Shit , yo ain't even got no hubcaps!". As if to finalize the matter he let out a phsst noise and waived his hand in dismissal at Faye. She couldn't help it any more, she let out with a roar of laughter. The pimp, obviously offended, pulled out a switch blade and pointed it in Faye's direction. The newly gathered crowd all took a step back and made the cinematic "Ooohhh" noise. The purple haired woman let out a chuckle as she shook her head in disbelief. Now the pimp was just plain annoyed as he made his way a little closer to the shadow. That's when Faye pulled out her glock. Apparently even a verbally challenged pimp knew that a gun out weighed a knife and backed down. Flipping Faye off as he scrambled to get back in the ghetto mobile, he revved the engine and put the car in gear. As he pulled a miniscule smoke show for the crowd that had gathered to witness the quarrel, Faye noticed the collection of crown air fresheners in his rear window. This just made her laugh even more. Pushing the unexpected protectiveness for Ed out of her mind, she took a look around the audience that the whole episode had attracted. Not wanting to hold up traffic anymore than she already had, Faye climbed back into her car and pulled out of the intersection. Ed and Ein just stared straight ahead not knowing what to make of the public display they had just witnessed. 

****

Oh, it's such a perfect day

I'm glad I spent it with you

Oh, such a perfect day

You just keep me hanging on

You just keep me hanging on

The weary travelers found a restaurant not too far from the intersection of doom. Unfortunately Ein had to wait in the car. The girls got the food to go so that dog wouldn't be alone in the car too long. They chowed down while searching for a motel to spend the night. Faye decided on a sea side place named THE SASSY SHACK. She was on an apparent sassy roll this week, so she found it quite fitting. Ed stowed Ein away in her back pack and told him to be quiet. The two girls walked through the glass doors and made their way to the front desk. The desk was unoccupied so Ed asked Faye if she could ring the bell. After receiving a nod of approval, Edward began to perform morse code with the bell. This seemed to get the desk clerks attention. "Hold your horses!" Was lisped in their direction from behind a partition. A few seconds later a middle aged man sporting a goatee appeared from behind the make shift wall. He was wearing a black beret, with small black sunglasses, a black turtle neck and black pants. Once he was directly in front of the two customers he placed his left hand on his hip, lowered his sunglasses further down on his nose with his right hand and lazily let out in a made up accent, "Can I help you?". Raising his eyebrow to emphasize his boredom. " Yes" Faye finally sputtered out, "we would like a room please." Ed couldn't pull her eyes off of the aged beatnik in front of her. She was getting a mental picture of him sitting on a small stage in a dark café reading poetry to people dressed in the same fashion. Smoke filling the room along with the clanking of glasses. The aroma of black coffee rich in the air. A click of his lighter snapped her out of her thoughts. He lit a cigarette and then casually flipped through the register. As he looked up from the book, he looked in the direction of the girls and let out a puff of smoke before saying "I think that I've got something for you". The smoke floated up like tendrils on a vine and wrapped around his head. It was very film noir. Edward wished that she had had those shell things that they used to clap with their fingers in lieu of applause.

****

Just a perfect day

Problems all left alone

Weekenders on our own

It's such fun

Beatnik Bill showed them to their room and once he had left, Ed let Ein out of the bag. Giving a quick glance around the room, Faye noted that it wasn't all that bad. Way better than the BeBop for sure. They each had their own beds and a good size tv was placed on a bureau at the end of the room. A desk with a lamp stood next to the door and a bathroom with a tub/shower combo was to the left of the side table. What made it even better was the mini bar located in between the beds that doubled as a joint night stand. Faye went over to inspect the contents of the bar. Ed grabbed the remote, turned on the tv and started to channel surf while jumping on the beds like any ADD victim normally would. Ein decided to inspect the bathroom, sticking his head over the rim of the toilet to taste the water in the bowl. Finding it satisfactory, he really hated it when it had the blue shit in it, he took a long drink before turning and making his way to the beds. A trail of toilet water and drool followed him for the length of his journey. Faye wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned her attention back to the bar. She started to pull out the inventory. The crinkling of the little bags of cocktail peanuts snapped Ed out of her gymnastics routine. She lunged off of the bed at Faye. Once the two had equally divided and conquered the peanuts they both plopped onto their designated beds and began the quest for something to watch. Well something that they could agree on any way.

****

Just a perfect day

You make me forget myself

I thought I was someone else

Some one good

They decided on an old movie from Faye's past. She remembered when this movie had come out. Man was it still good. Ed had never seen it so Faye insisted that they watch it after she assured Ed that she would love it. Sure enough, Ed was matching Faye's laughter and awe during every scene. Even the dog jumped when the gangster stabbed the bosses wife in the chest with the adrenalin shot. Now this was cinema. Once the movie was over Faye had the urge for a joint. She was currently waging a battle with herself on whether to light it up in here or go hide in the bathroom with it. She always hid on the ship when she smoked and she wasn't sure if she should expose Ed to the sight. It wasn't like she had ever been a good role model any way, but the old Faye didn't know if she was comfortable with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. "Ed" Faye asked slowly. The young girl turned her head away from the tv to look at Faye. 

****

Oh, it's such a perfect day

I'm glad that I spent it with you

Oh, such a perfect day

You just keep me hanging on

You just keep me hanging on

"Yes Faye-Faye?". "Ed, do you mind if…" she stopped wanting to rephrase the question a little. "Would you think any less of me if I….." '_Man this is harder than I thought'_ . Ed just stared at Faye waiting for her to just get to the point so she could go back to watching deputy dog. Faye finally spoke again after what seemed like an eternity, "I have a habit that's kind of bad and I was wondering if it was a bad thing to do it in front of you". The young girl just blinked. " You see, I like to smoke…." she was cut off by a slightly perturbed Ed. The red head let out an exasperated sigh, "Just light up the joint and pass it to Ed!". Now it was Faye's turn to blink.

****

You're just going to reap just what you sow

You're just going to reap just what you sow

You're just going to reap just what you sow

You're just going to reap just what you sow

AHHH!! The infamous filler chapter! This was kind of a bridge for the next one. The pulp fiction references are in this chapter as well because, 1) it's too fucking cool of a movie, and 2) so that I can establish the time frame. Jet was watching it as well while Spike was out looking for Faye. This way next chapter everyone will be on the same day. See I'm not very smart or talented so I do stupid things like write chapters in advance. Then I don't know where to use them. That and I wasn't sure how people would react to the thought of Ed being a pot head along with Faye, Spike and Jet. So if you flame me please remember that this is MY point of view and MY idea and please respect that. I respect all of your stories whether or not I approve of the content or not. Please review, I hate to beg. It's like being on Ebay. 

****

  



	9. Road to Nowhere

I do not one bebop or anything to do with bebop. Although I really like bebop, I am nothing but a poor fan.

This is hopefully the last boring chapter. As much as I would love to have every one of them packed full of goodness, I'm not that talented so you get this instead. Sorry. Even though it might not seem so, this story does have a plot. I'm just laying all of the ground work for it.

Song credits for Road to Nowhere go to the Talking Heads.

****

Well

We know where we're going

But we can't say where we've been

And we know what we're knowing

But we can't say what we've seen

And we're not little children

And we know what we want

And the future is certain

Give us time to work it out

Faye was extremely surprised to see that Ed smoked marijuana. She was so young. But then again Faye had started when she was around eleven or so. Ed was on her own for more than half of her life, so it would make sense that she would know about the necessary evils of life. But what was even more surprising was the fact that Ed could actually carry on a fluent conversation while high. Like she never was crazy to begin with. It was kind of spooky and kind of cool all at the same time. It was like pot gave Ed an epiphany or something. Faye took this opportunity as they sat on her bed to ask Ed all of the things she had been wondering since she had picked her up earlier in the evening. "So Ed", she asked between hits, "why didn't you go back to the ship?". The red head passed the spliff and exhaled a large plume of smoke, "It didn't quite feel right", she seemed to be seriously thinking of how to continue with her answer, "believe it or not Ed does have pride". This kind of made Faye stop and think. She never would of expected Ed to come out with an explanation like that. '_Must be the weed'._ "So pride kept you from going back to afro man and robo cop?" the purple haired woman asked. The young girl shook her head in the universal direction of no. "Not completely, see Ed felt that if Jet-person and lunkhead Spike-person really wanted Edward back" she paused to inhale some of the smoldering maryjane, Faye waited patiently for her to finish. After exhaling another power hit Ed ended her sentence, "they would have come and looked for me". That was actually the same way Faye felt about her departure. She still had her communicator and it hadn't rang since before she had left the ship. The older woman switched from her current position that resembled an assisted head stand, Ed had convinced her that you got a better buzz if you stood on your head while smoking and believe it or not she was right, not being able to keep herself from falling over. Ed followed suit and proceeded to shot gun Ein with her latest hit. The dog sneezed and shook his head from side to side.

Ed and Ein were smoking buddies back on the BeBop as well. They used to like going into the bathroom after Faye had taken a shower to get a contact high. Jet used to beat them to it every once in awhile though. Spike however chose his throne, the toilet, as his smoking spot. But the profuse odors that used to accompany Spike in the bathroom prevented Ed from trying to get a buzz in there. No one human other than Spike could stand that smell. She often wondered if something had crawled up his ass and died. Ed was snapped from her musings by Faye nudging her to pass the joint. She complied before asking her companion a question, " Does Faye-Faye miss the BeBop-BeBop?". That question was a tough one to answer. Did she? Well she kind of missed the ship. But on the other hand, they had never liked her anyway. "I really can't give you an honest answer to that question Ed". The hacker seemed to understand perfectly. "Do you miss Spike-person?" '_What's with the twenty questions?'_ "Why would I miss Spike?" Faye took on a defensive attitude. "Because Ed thinks that you liked him". Ed was perceptive, Faye had to give her that. "No, I thought that he was good looking" the purple haired woman argued, "that's not the same thing". It wasn't, it was totally different. The younger of the two didn't seem to buy it. "Then why did Faye-Faye always take care of Spike-person when he was hurt?" '_Touché'_ Faye had to really think this one out before opening her mouth, "Because we were comrades" she paused to think out her response a little more. "Besides, Jet made me". Ed gave her a look that said she thought that she was full of shit. "It's ok if you liked Spike-person Faye-Faye" she said as if she were dear Abby or something, "No one is going to know but Edward and Ein". 

" Ok, I liked Spike a little" Faye finally conceded, " I was more attracted to him than anything else". Ed nodded her head and replied, " Spike-person didn't know what he was missing". This made Faye stop dead in her tracks and give Ed her full attention. "What are you talking about?" she asked Ed a tad bit confused. " I said that Spike-person didn't know what he was missing " she put Ein in her lap and finished where she had left off, "he was too caught up in his memories of Julia to see how beautiful Faye-Faye was". '_ This conversation is going way too out of control' _. "Let's talk about something else Ed, ok?" she was going to loose her buzz at this rate. Edward turned on the tv and searched for the music channels. The red head settled on an old earth new wave channel and turned the volume up a little higher. Faye remembered this music and felt a little nostalgic. She started to sing and sway to the music while relighting the bone that had gone out during their somewhat philosophical conversation about Spike. Ed turned to her, "does Faye-Faye like this music?". "Yes, I was in high school when most of it first came out". She passed the joint to Ed after shot gunning Ein herself. '_ Hey, this is kind of fun'_. "Did Faye-Faye get her memory back?" the hacker asked. "Yeah, I did" Faye perked up. "I guess that it wasn't as important to have a past as I had originally thought, but I'm still glad that I have one". "Did Faye-Faye find where she belonged?". This dampened the former amnesiac's spirit a bit. "Yes, but there was nothing left". Seeing the wistful look in her older companion's eyes Ed quickly thought of an uplifting response, "you belong with Edward!". This made Faye look up and smile. Now this was the Ed that she had known, not the shell that she picked up earlier. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them for at least fifteen minutes while they continued to smoke. In between shot gunning Ein they chowed on cocktail nuts and candy bars. Faye had decided to finally break the silence after downing half of the contents of the mini bar.

****

We're on a road to nowhere

Come on inside

Taking that ride to nowhere

We'll take that ride

"Well, what are you going to do now?" the older woman slurred slightly. " Don't know" Ed chirped, "What's Faye-Faye going to do?" " I really don't know myself" she admitted. "I'm going to go on a little vacation though" Faye thought that she deserved one after putting up with Oscar and Felix for the last two years. "Can Edward and Ein come?" the hacker asked sheepishly. That was a tough question. She had really wanted some time alone, you know to get her head straight. But apparently Ed needed some R&R too. The old Faye was screaming to say yes. Obviously she was the only 'family' that the young girl currently had. Faye knew what it was like to be alone with no one to give two shits about what happened to you. So new Faye reluctantly agreed with old Faye to let Edward tag along. "Yes Ed, you can come…" she was cut off by Ed jumping up and down and squealing like a circus monkey on crack. "If you promise to behave!" Faye quickly added before loosing Ed's attention. "Yes Faye-Faye, Ed promises!" she made a motion to cross her heart but lost her balance and landed head first on the bed and then bounced off the bed onto the floor. Apparently pot affected Ed's motor skills slightly. Ein looked over the edge of the bed to see if she was alright. Ed popped back up scaring the little dog almost shitless and picked him up. She then proceeded to do what looked like a warped version of the electric slide with the dog on her head. This latest outburst earned a pounding on the wall from the occupants of the room next door. Faye had a sneaking suspicion that her Jon Hughes was going to become National Lampoons very quickly. The merriment continued on through the night until the trio passed out around three a.m.

****

I'm feeling okay this morning

And you know

We're on the road to paradise

Here we go

Here we go

Faye was relieved to find that Ed and Ein weren't morning people either. After getting up the two girls cleaned up and packed their things. Not being one to waste, Faye loaded the remaining contents of the bar into her bag along with the soap, shampoo and lotions. Even though she now had money she couldn't help her old habits. You know like they say about the leopard and it's spots. But she wasn't the only one. Ed took the towels and toilet paper. Ein on the other hand had decided it was better to give than receive, so he took the liberty of 'oiling' the drapes and left a nice juicy pile of shit under one of the beds. They briskly checked out and hopped into the shadow and sped off in search of breakfast. Faye picked a restaurant that was a good distance away from the motel just incase Beatnik Bill had gotten a look at their car. Over chourico, eggs and home fries the two girls decided on a quasi plan of action. They both agreed that north was a good direction to go. New Hampshire was about two hours away. It was beautiful this time of year. That was if it still looked like it did over eighty years ago. Edward had never been that far north and was excited at the prospect of an adventure. So it was agreed. North it was. After breakfast Faye went on a quick supply run seeing that she had only grabbed enough stuff for herself yesterday before finding Ed and Ein. Ed found a small yuppie cyber café to plug in her tomato. She uploaded all the info she could on their destination. When Faye returned Ed bombarded her with her findings. It appeared that old man on the mountain and the polar caves had indeed with stood the gate explosion. Lost river and the flume were still operational as well. Faye smiled at her companions newly sprung optimism and ruffled her red hair. They loaded up the car and found a gas station. Once the shadow was full to the brim with dead dinosaur juice they were off. Hopefully to find fun and excitement. Along with that, some missed youth and old memories. But with the unlikely combination currently crammed into the 2.5 liter sport sedan, who knows what would come of their frolic across the former USA.

****

We're on a road to nowhere

Come on inside

Taking that ride to nowhere

We'll take that ride

Maybe you wonder where you are

I don't care

Here is where time is on our side

Take you there 

Take you there

****

We're on a road to nowhere…

We're on a road to nowhere…

We're on a road to nowhere…

Jet clomped his way down the corridor of the ship with Olivia in tow. Spike had brought in the remnants of the swordfish and hadn't been seen since take off. The older man had spent the mid afternoon happily tending to his bonsai with Olivia by his side. It felt good to have a dog again. This way he could talk to the dog instead of himself. He felt more sane if he talked to the dog. The dog needed him to make decisions. His new companion was also a very good listener. Although Olivia looked just like Ein, she had a completely different personality. She seemed to be thankful to Jet for getting her out of that godforsaken pet store. Which he appreciated. Respect was always something Jet would never get enough of. It was a little pathetic that he seemed to only get it from little kids and pets, but it was better than nothing. He absently wondered where Spike had gotten off to. He wasn't in the common room or the hanger. '_Maybe he's working out'_ Jet thought to himself as he made his way to the control room to make sure that they were still on their way to mars. It was funny how they always were on mars when Spike was presumably hiding from the syndicate that seemed to almost completely run the planet. It was like he was trying to get caught. Maybe it was the thrill of getting caught that fed Spike. He guessed his partner was like one of those kids that you would see hanging around the scene of a past fight, just waiting for the prime time for a rematch. '_A tiger can't change it's stripes'._ Just as the two innocent bystanders got within five feet of the lavatory door they were assaulted with an odor that would peel the paint off of the ship. '_ Found him'_ the older man pulled his shirt over his nose. The door to the toilet slid open and belted the occupants of the hall with a mist of smoke and an indescribable odor. The balding man turned to his right to see the dog with her head on the floor and her paws over her face. Through the cloud of methane, THC and nicotine Jet could make out the emerging green afro of his comrade. " What the fuck Spike!" the older man yelled through his shirt. The lanky man strained to look at the source of the voice through bloodshot eyes. Once Jet's location was established he put a smirk on his face and fully exited the room, "Too many eggs" he soon quipped. Spike turned in the direction of the common room and left Jet and Olivia at ground zero.

****

There's a city in my mind

Come along and take that ride

And it's alright

Baby it's alright

While whistling a haunting tune , Spike made his way down the hall. Hands in pockets, slightly slouched over with his head facing down. The sound of his shoes echoing off of the floor filled the hall. As he casually strolled by Faye's room he couldn't help but stop. He reluctantly pushed the button that opened the door. After looking both ways to make sure Jet wasn't anywhere in sight, Spike slowly made his way into the empty room. The air was still filled with the smell of cigarette smoke and perfume. It still smelled like Faye. Faye always smelled like cigarettes and flowers. '_Narcissus' _. He made his way over to her bed and sat down. A quick glance around the room showed him that she definitely wasn't coming back anytime soon. All that was left was the furniture and the beta player. '_ Wonder why she didn't take that?'_ Spike reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Taking a second from his thoughts to light it. He laid back on her bed as he exhaled a puff off smoke. Turning his head to face the tv at the foot of the bed, he looked around for the remote that went with the beta player. After spotting it on her makeshift nightstand, he grabbed it and then pushed both the tape and the power button on the tv with his feet almost knocking the tv on the floor in the process. The tv came to life and filled the room with an eerie blue light until Spike used the remote to turn on the player. In a few seconds and after the fuzz and lines went away, he was face to face with a much younger version of the shrew woman. 

This one seemed to be very polite and modest. Very innocent. Qualities his former ship mate did not posses currently. With out having any clue as to why he was actually watching this, Spike continued to lay on Faye's bed and watch her home movie. '_Must be the weed'. _ Once the tape had finished the lanky cowboy just stared at the blank blue screen. He wondered what it was like to wake up not knowing what the fuck was going on. To be told by perfect strangers that you've been dead for fifty years and even though everyone you know is dead and you don't even know who the hell you are yourself, you still owe us lots and lots of money. Maybe that's what changed her, not so much the amnesia, but the fact that she had to live like an animal. He could sympathize. Although he never would admit it to her, Spike could definitely make direct comparisons between Faye and himself. They both 'die' and then unwillingly come back. Neither one of them could go out in public and scream out who they were without taking the risk of alerting all that were hunting their asses down. The two of them had been screwed by someone that they loved and trusted and thought loved and trusted them just as much. They also both apparently thought wrong. Jet was their only true friend in the galaxy and the BeBop was the only true 'home' the two had known since their 'deaths'. The only real difference other than gender was the fact that Spike unfortunately knew who he was. He remembered all of his miserable life. 

****

And it's very far away

But it's growing day by day

And it's alright

Baby it's alright

All of these thoughts were just too damn depressing for Spike to deal with at the moment. He was ruining a very good buzz and decided to leave the room before he thought himself straight. Or even worse, before he willed himself to go and look for Faye on his own. '_ She left on her own' _his thoughts were a little fuzzy after standing up too fast, '_ she can come back on her own'. _Feeling the need to get his mind off of all things Faye, he slowly progressed his way to the rotating corridor, with the common room as his ultimate goal. '_I think that I could use a good chat with Mr. Fan right now anyway' _the cowboy quipped to himself, '_besides, Faye was just a pain in the ass anyway….' _his thoughts were disrupted by the unusual but yet familiar feeling that his left foot was now experiencing. He winced as he looked down to find the source of the current sensation. '_ You little mutherfucker…..' _"Jet!", his scream could be heard through out the ship, "your fucking dog shit on the floor!". After a short silence, "It's got to smell better than yours I'm sure!" could be heard coming from somewhere near the kitchen. "Fuck you!" was all Spike could muster as a retort in his current condition. The same gruff voice that had made a comment about the aroma of his fecal matter could now be heard laughing. '_Fucking asshole' _ the green haired man pulled off his shoe and held it out at an arms length away from his face, '_you can clean it up yourself then'. _It wasn't his fucking dog in the first place. He changed direction and headed back the way he had come. After chucking his shoe in the bathroom sink, he would clean it up later, the other shoe was tossed into his room to await the reunion with its mate at a later date. 

****

Would you like to come along

You can help me sing this song

And it's alright

Baby it's alright

They can tell you what to do

But they'll make a fool of you

The trip to the common room seemed to take a millennium. Mostly due to the fact that Spike walked very cautiously to avoid any more of Olivia's hot steamy presents. Once his goal was reached, he sat himself down on the couch. Jet was doing something in the kitchen, Olivia happily grumbling and yipping like she was having a conversation with him. Spike hopped that he never got to the point when he started talking to animals like they knew what the fuck was going on in life. '_Death before senility is what I always say'. _ Like the dog was going to answer him back or something. That's why he talked to Mr. Fan, he could talk back. '_Speaking of Mr. Fan'_ the lanky form on the couch switched to a more comfortable horizontal position . With his hand behind his head and his feet hanging over the opposite end of the couch as his head, Spike began to engage a conversation with his buddy on the ceiling. Searching the spinning blades for the answers to life he so desperately needed to hear. '_Mr. Fan when will things be back to normal?' _ he paused to wait for the fans reply, '_yeah, I guess things were never really normal to begin with'. _ All of this thinking about Faye and her shitty life that was just like his and the nice way that she smelled. The thought of how long it had been since he actually had had sex with someone other than his right hand for the last three years. These thoughts all made him long to be touched and soothed by soft feminine hands, The hands of his long lost love, Julia. He could picture her face and her sad but alluring smile. Although it had been so long that he didn't quite remember what she smelled like. The young man seemed to be deeply in thought before he looked up and asked the fan his next question. '_Mr. Fan, will I ever find Julia?'. _ On cue the ever spinning fan stopped short . Soon after the sound of crackling and the smell of ozone, the fan began to emit a dark plume of smoke. Spike frowned, one of the darkest frowns that he could muster. '_Fuck you Mr. Fan!'. _Jet peaked around the corner to see if his partner wanted something to eat, but paused when he saw the intense staring match that Spike was currently having with the fan. He popped back into the kitchen and shook his head at Olivia who barked in agreement that Spike was one messed up kid.

****

And it's alright

Baby it's alright

There's a city in my mind

Come along and take that ride

We're on a road to nowhere……

That's it from Pimpin Satan for a little while. Satan sliced open a knuckle at work and needed six stitches and a shot. Satan is feeling the pain my friends. The lyrics were typed out with one hand laboriously this morning so that I could post this chapter. Unfortunately it would have to be the hand I use for righting, drawing, etc… Oh well, it could be worse. Will continue as soon as possible… Please review…. It would make me feel better.

Thanks to the Armani Ninja for all the support and for posting my art. Armani Ninja has a very pimpin site that you should check out!!! You got to love a pimpin site!


	10. The Passenger

Don't I feel like an ass! In my last chapter I implied that Old Man in the Mountain survived the Earth gate explosion in this story. Then a few weeks later on May 4th it collapsed in an avalanche. Kind of freaky. Oh well, for the sake of this story it's still there. I guess that I'll have to not use too many national landmarks in my fic, huh? I'm from RI, we wouldn't want anything happening to the Big Blue Bug now would we? If you have a life and don't know what the hell I'm talking about then just rent Dumb and Dumber. You'll see the Big Blue Bug, sadly it's our national landmark. Pathetic I know. But I guess it beats worshiping the giant Mr. Potato Head that resides out side of our state house. On a lighter note, thank you for your concern about my hand, it's much better now. Thanks for all of my nice reviews. Reviews make Satan feel all warm and squishy. 

Song credits for the passenger go to Iggy Pop, but Souixsie and the Banshees did a swanky version as well.

****

I am the passenger and I ride and I ride

I ride through the city's back sides

I see the stars come out of the sky

Yeah the bright and hollow sky

You know it looks so good tonight

Ed loved the rush of hanging her head out of the window of a car while hammering along down the highway. The feel of the wind sand blasting her face. An occasional bug bouncing off of her forehead or splattering guts across the lenses of her goggles. She briefly wondered if this is what it felt like if you were a seagull. The strange looks from passing cars were fun too. Like they never saw a kid with a wild red semi-fro and green goggles hanging her head out of a car window before. This was the 2070's for crying out loud. For the first time in a long time Ed could actually say that she was happy. She was happy on the BeBop, but this was different. This was more like the child hood that she was supposed to have had. Late night girl talks, eating out in burger joints, road trips and vacations. Ok trekking across Old New England in a relic of a car with a dog equipped with some form of AI and a pot smoking, alcohol drinking, foul mouthed, former amnesiac bounty hunter wasn't exactly a normal adolescent experience. But it beat the shit out of trying to track down your absent minded poor excuse for a father while living in a trash filled abandoned building or a rusted hulk of a fishing ship. Considering the circumstances Jet and Spike did the best that they could in giving Edward a safe place to stay. The old Faye did her part too. They never yelled at or hit Ed. They had always given her the food first. The ship had been her only real home ever since she could remember. But it was now time to move on and she was going to do it with new Faye. They both needed to go and rediscover themselves. She would always remember her time on the BeBop and she would always remember how sometimes perfect strangers could be more of a family than one would ever realize. Most importantly, she would always remember that in some instances, water could be thicker than blood. 

****

I am the passenger

I stay under glass

I look through my window so bright

I see the stars come out tonight

The genius hacker let all of these thoughts bounce around in her head while absorbing the scenery. The trees along the sides of the road were larger than any she had ever seen before. Every now and then they would drive over a river or stream. The silhouettes of mountains loomed far off into the distance. The air seemed to get fresher the further they went. All of your senses working together and giving you a small tingly feeling in the bottom of your stomach in anticipation of what was too come. Seeing the stars was an adventure, but this was a feeling Ed couldn't quite describe. Maybe it was a combination of the environment and the company. Whatever the reason for the feeling, as long as it didn't go away anytime soon Ed was happy. One thing Ed did know though, she knew that she had to go to the bathroom. Ducking her head back into the car she noticed that Ein was currently sacked out on the back seat. ' _Maybe all the non recycled air was just too much for him?!'._ Ed lifted her goggles from her eyes and hung her bug encrusted face over the passenger seat to talk to Faye. "Faye-Faye, Ed needs to pee!" she happily announced over the sound of the radio. "Can you wait about ten minutes" her comrade asked back, "there's a rest area a little further up the highway." Edward nodded an affirmative to Faye and plopped her self back down into her appointed spot. After indeed ten minutes they pulled into a rest area filled with picnic tables and paved walkways. A large building to the left the parking lot housed the bathrooms and tourist information center. Ed poked at Ein forcing him to lift his head up and make eye contact. The dog let out a confused whine and shot her a look that said 'what the fuck?'. " Ein doggy, let's go pee!" quipped the spunky red head with bugs guts plastered across her face and what looked like a dead bumble bee stuck in a tuft of hair. The dog shook his head and clambered up onto all fours. Faye was already out of the car and on her way to the building. 

****

I see the bright and hollow sky

Over the cities ripped back sides

And everything looks good tonight

While weaving her way down the winding path, Faye was passed and nearly knocked down by a rolling ball of red hair and limbs. A smaller ball of barking fluff in hot pursuit. The larger ball continued to roll until it hit the side of the building with a loud thud. The collision left Edward with her limbs sprawled out all over the pavement and her tongue hanging out of her mouth, all the while Ein barking and prancing around in circles. The over active child then assumed an upright position before making her way into the building singing, "Edward needs to pee….wee…wee….Ein's a super smart doggie…..". The older of the trio quickly looked around to see if anyone was looking. The few that were just stood in awe, staring at the spot that Ed had once occupied. Faye could only hope that no one had been paying attention to the fact that they had all gotten out of the same car. Once inside the purple haired woman took a moment to absorb her surroundings. The bathrooms were clearly marked so Ed should have made it fine, there was also a large counter full of pamphlets and brochures to the left of the bathrooms. After about ten minutes of looking out the window, Faye decided to go and take a look at the paperwork on the large counter she had passed by when she first walked in. She made her way to the counter just in time to hear a loud crash come from behind it. A few seconds later the brochures and leaflets went flying into the air like confetti and Ed hopped up onto the counter. Ein came from around the corner and started to bark and whine. Oblivious to the fact that she was destroying the place, Ed proceeded to execute a perfect pirouette on top of the counter. All eyes were on the hyperactive red head as she did a back flip off of the counter top and landed in a split on the floor, narrowly missing the corgi that was obviously her companion. To complete the routine she gave a small bow. Instead of getting applause, she was grabbed by the collar of her shirt and dragged quickly out of the building by a very angry Faye.

****

La, la, la, la ,la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la, la

The angry woman tossed her passengers into the shadow and gunned it out of the rest stop, cutting off a line of cars in the process. The whole time doing nothing but rant and rave at Ed, "What is wrong with you….can't you just act normal for five minutes!!!????!!!!". This continued for about another half an hour. "Blah…blah….blah….you need to behave…..blah….blah…..I'm not going to put up with…blah…." So forth and so on, Ed only tuned in when she heard important buzz words. She picked that trick up from Jet. He always did that when Spike and Faye were bitching about this, that and whatever. It was a helpful skill to have. The real trick to it was actually looking like you were really listening to them. Her goggles came in handy for that. They came in handy for a lot of things. Ed briefly wondered if she could market them. Then she saw a bottle cap on the floor of the car and forgot all about it. 

****

Get into the car, we'll be the passenger

We'll ride through the city tonight

We'll see the city's ripped back side

Just when the novelty of the bottle cap was beginning to wear off, Ed's attention was caught by a strange animal that she could see on the side of the road. It was huge and blackish brown. This thing was definitely bigger that Faye's car. Protruding from its over sized head were two large sets of grayish branches. They kind of looked like deformed bonsai trees. " Faye-Faye!" she squealed, "what is that?". Faye quickly looked out Ed's window to see what the hell she was talking about. Getting a good glimpse, she answered Ed, "It's a moose". The red head let this new tidbit of information stew in her brain for a minute. She then picked up Ein so that he could look out the window. "Look Ein, it's a moose" she quipped. The dog looked thoroughly unimpressed and wiggled himself out of her grasp. Plopping his body down on the back seat to once again take a nap. Ed on the other hand was still intently staring out the window to see if she could spot another moose. "Faye-Faye…when will Edward see another moose?" the hacker queried. Faye looked in her rear view mirror at Ed. "I'm sure we'll see plenty of them the further north we go", the purple haired woman reassured her younger companion. "Yippee!!! Edward will see another moose…goose…loose caboose..", Ed sang to her self as she continued to stare out the window, her head bobbing to a beat only she could hear. Waving at passing cars and making silly faces. Every now and then Faye would catch her eating a bug.

****

We'll see the bright and hollow sky

We'll see the stars that shine so bright

Stars made for us tonight

Another two hours into the trip and after about three rest stop visits, Ed had made her boredom all too clear to Faye. An over exaggerated sigh would frequently escape from the rear seat. The older woman guessed that Edward was currently in tomato withdrawal, that and the fact that Ein was asleep and wasn't in the mood to play any time soon. He had already made that point clear to Edward when he nipped her for waking him up. Surprisingly, she took the hint. It would be at least another hour before they reached the next rest area with tourist hospitality services. So while waiting in traffic, the purple haired woman fished through the glove box to find something to occupy Ed. Her hands found purchase on a medium sized booklet. After pulling it out, Faye turned it over to see what it was. YOU AND YOUR 1994 DODGE SHADOW, obviously it was the cars owners manual. She guessed that it must have technical stuff in it and Ed was definitely technologically inclined. Faye didn't need it for anything, the car started and it drove. Who really gave a shit how many miles per gallon it got. Shrugging she tossed it into the back seat to tide over Ed until they could find something else. The book sailed into the air and landed on the head of a sleeping Ein. The dog whimpered and then growled at the offensive paper product. Ed quickly grabbed it, a large smile on her face as she opened it up. "Service manuals are cool Ein", she chirped and dove into the pamphlet, nodding her head and letting out the occasional _Mmm_ _Mmm _and the odd _ Ahh Hah _as she thumbed through it. The dog voiced his opinion via a small controlled methane discharge and went back to his nap. Faye opened her window and waived her hand in front of her face to clear the immediate air in order to keep from passing out. '_ He's definitely Spike's dog'. _

****

La, la, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la, la

The traffic started to move forward and so did the shadow. They slowly muscled for rank through the lines of cars on the highway in order to get into position for the next exit about ten miles or so up the highway. If Faye's memory served her correctly there would be a twenty four hour tourist info center/liquor store at said exit. It was quite the practice in hypocrisy to preach the 'DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE FOLKS' sermon and then put a twenty for hour package store on the both sides of the highway. Not to mention the fact that they were state run. But then again, what better way to get enough money to ensure that everyone's salaries were paid and that the pot holes still got fixed than alcohol. Almost everyone drinks at some point in their lives. Someone was always going to buy it. That's why Faye thought that pot should be made legal. Even if it was government run, it would regulate the prices and the economy would improve. Her brows furrowed for a minute as she ran that thought back through her head. There was no way that it could be that simple could it? It would have already been done if it was, right? After a few minutes of deliberation she thought better of it. Yeah, it would make buying it a lot easier. But on the other hand though, there would be no more drug dealers, thus no more bounties on drug dealers. Since bounty hunters made up a huge percent of the solar systems work force, herself included, it would mean a big loss of income. '_ Ok, scratch the thoughts on the legalization of weed Faye and concentrate on the road'. _She chided herself for trying to solve the universes economy and decided to think about something less stressful. Faye was never one for thinking up fail safe plans. That was always Jet's job. She was an Indian not a chief. Although her and Ed weren't doing to bad so far. Not having any wood close by Faye knocked on troll Spike's forehead for good luck. '_ Close enough'. _

****

Oh the passenger

Oh how he rides

Oh the passenger

He rides and he rides

He looks through his window

What does he see

Faye was beginning to have doubts that she was going the right way. They should have seen signs for the exit by now. Pushing back that slightly nervous feeling in her stomach, she began to rationalize with her self. They couldn't have gone by it already, it was fucking huge. Even if Ed had been standing on Faye's head playing a trumpet, they still would've seen it. Or at least seen someone staggering along side of the highway with a bottle in their hand. No, she was pretty sure that they were on the right track. Maybe she had misgauged the distance between exits. That must have been it. Lifting her head up enough to catch a glance at Edward, Faye noticed that she was almost half way done with her new found periodical. Her eyes fell back onto the road ahead of her just in time to see what she thought was an exit marker. She was reassured when she noticed the upcoming highway sign with a pop art-esque picture of a beer can on it. Giving herself a proverbial pat on the back for retaining the knowledge of obscure things for over fifty years once again, Faye put on her directional and veered onto the welcoming exit. 

****

He sees the bright and hollow sky

He sees the stars come out tonight

He sees the city's ripped back sides

He sees the winding ocean drive

And everything was made for you and me

After going to the bathroom, Faye made Ed and Ein go back to the car to wait for her. Ed was currently biting her toenails. A little while later Faye emerged from the store toting two large shopping bags. Once she got to the car, she opened the trunk to place them inside. Since the car had a hatch style trunk, Ed could hang her head inside of it while Faye fished through the bags. The older woman handed Ed a bottle of juice and a bag of chips. The red head was about to turn around and sit in her seat when she was stopped by Faye. "Here" the purple haired woman said as she handed Edward a small black box type thing. The young girl took the object and turned it over in her hands, inspecting it. "What's this Faye-Faye?". "It's a camera", Faye answered, "this way you can take pictures of all the things that you want to remember." This was a new concept for the thirteen year old genius. She knew what a camera was, just that she always just used her tomato for pictures. It had completely escaped her that people still used this type of thing. Everything was always digital and computer run. She suspected that her older companion had done this when she was small. Except Faye had no pictures left to look at. So this was Ed's turn to have a chance at making memories. This way she would always have something to look at. Faye was definitely changing. Ed thanked Faye and sat back down in her seat. She began to munch on her snack while studying her new camera. 

Since finishing her food, Edward tried out her camera. She had already taken a few practice shots. A few of Ein, a couple of Faye and she was currently hanging out of the window in search of the ever elusive moose. The camera had been pressed up against her face for about thirty minutes now. She didn't dare take it away, the second she did a moose would appear. She just knew it. It always happened that way on cartoons and she wasn't going to be tricked.

All of it was made for you and me

Cause it belongs to you and me

So let's take a ride

And see what's mine

The mismatched group of travelers were currently exiting the Flume Gorge attraction. Ed and Ein were completely soaked. Not being able to resist the urge to jump in the basin. They had walked through water falls and in between rock walls. Ein had peed on everything that he could. They rode the little tour bus that tooled through the park and they had tea in the tea house. Before that they had driven Faye's shadow up a big mountain. Edward had also finally gotten her moose picture. Although she had gotten a little too close and he charged her. Good thing for her monkey like skills. She was able to climb a tree to get away. That was the last time that she ran off with out Faye. Nature was fun, but it could also be life threatening. 

This had been the best day Ed had had so far. She had gotten to climb and crawl through caves and tunnels at some place called Lost River. Sitting on Santa's lap in his little village had been a hoot too. The trained bear show had been fabulous as well, she had plenty of pictures of that. But by far the best thing had to be the fact that she wasn't alone. She had spent the day with Faye. Edward had spent most of her life alone, nothing but her tomato to keep her company. Today she had been with someone. That meant a lot to Edward. No one tolerated her because they needed info, Faye tolerated her because she wanted to. Ed had to admit her older companion had been a little up tight at the start of the journey. But after several falls and getting her chest stuck in the Lemon Squeeze thing, Ed made sure to get a picture of that, she had loosened up considerably. Posing for goofy souvenir pictures together. Laughing and smiling. She seemed to be reliving some of her child hood along side Ed. The spunky red head never imagined that Faye could be so much fun. 

****

La, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la

Once they made it back to the car they were going to go to a camp ground to stay. Ed couldn't wait. They were going to go camping. With a tent and a fire. Spooky ghost stories and these neat little orange packets that would heat up when you shook them. Camping in a camp ground on the side of a mountain. Faye had said that she used to stay there with her family when she was Ed's age. No one had ever taken Edward camping before. Unless you counted that time when the BeBop crashed on Europa. But she wasn't going to count that because they didn't have any marshmallows then. This time Faye had brought marshmallows. The old Faye wouldn't have given two shits about bringing marshmallows for Edward. This was new Faye though. New Faye was a little more grown up, but not in the normal sense. Before she was very child like, even more so than her red headed accomplice. She would steal and cheat and lie. Now she was just being herself. Who she was before life had given her a bad deal. Before she had a large debt over her head. She was growing up for the better. Even Ein noticed it. Faye would have never allowed the dog in her car a month ago. Now she was toweling him off. New Faye was a lot kinder and more patient. She even let Ed put the 'this car climbed mt. Washington' bumper sticker on the shadow and didn't yell when Ed put it on a little crooked. Edward definitely was glad she was here to witness this. To see what Faye was becoming.

. 

Oh the passenger

He rides and he rides

He sees things from under glass

He looks through his window side

He sees the things he knows are his

It was too bad that it couldn't have been this way on the BeBop though. There would have been a lot less fighting. But then again that's what made living on the ship interesting. It was like watching a real time episode of Jerry Springer. Faye would bitch at Spike. Spike would bitch at Jet to get him to get Faye to stop bitching. Then everyone would start to yell and in the end furniture would start to get thrown around the room. It was definitely Fox material. 

But things were different now. Faye and Ed both were different now. She would have never been able to have a day like today if they were still there. Even though Edward missed Spike and Jet, she really needed this more. She loved seeing the universe, but for some reason seeing the Earth was just more fulfilling. It was like finding money that you had forgotten about while cleaning your room. She had spent most of her life on Earth, but never new that there was this much to see. That's what happens when you stay inside attached to your computer. You know what the real world is about. You know that the sky is blue and the grass is green. Birds sing and dogs bark. But you never really think about how blue the sky can be. Or that sometimes it's gray or even orange. The grass can sometimes have flowers and it can sometimes have weeds. The birds could even poop on your car while they were singing, but that wasn't very relevant. 

Basically, you know the surroundings. You know the world around you. You just sometimes forget how varied it can be. You forget that sometimes after a thunder storm, when the clouds part and the sun comes back out, that a rainbow sometimes appears. Then you see it and think to yourself, 'wow'. Now you knew that that has been known to happen. You might have read about it or learned it from tv, but it took going outside to actually see it to remind you that it was there. That's what was happening to Faye. She had been cooped up in herself. Wondering too much about what was going to happen or what might have happened to see what was going on right now. She was so wrapped up in finding her past that she forgot that she needed to work on her present. Sure getting her memory back gave her a little bit of piece of mind. Knowing that she wasn't a serial killer or something was helpful to continue on with life. But it really didn't change much. Yeah, since then she's been nicer, but what's to say she wouldn't have been this way anyway.

The potential was there. She just needed a little kick in the ass to get her going in the right direction. She was still searching, but not for her past. She was now searching for her present. To be comfortable with herself. Both Faye's getting together to make one complete Faye. Ed wasn't a psychologist, but she could tell that Faye was heading in the right direction. She might not have found a place to belong, but she found herself. That's what mattered and Ed was glad that she could help. That's what friends were for.

****

He sees the bright and hollow sky

He sees the city sleep at night

He sees the stars are out tonight

And all of it is yours and mine

And all of it is yours and mine

So let's take a ride

La, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la

I'm not happy with this chapter. I've been struggling with writer's block for over a month. I updated another story and added one in hopes of getting out of my slump. Oh well, I've got the next two chapters of this partially written. I will get them out as soon as possible. I just don't want them to be all shitty like this one. 


	11. Everybody Knows

I never have and I never will own cowboy bebop; just the commercialized merchandise sold on ebay.

I've been waiting to use this song!! I've always loved this song!! This chapter is a tad bit dark. Not dark enough to ruin the comedy, but still dark. Let's face it, Spike can't always be a happy little troll, can he? No he can't. I think that would ruin his character if he all of a sudden became all happy and stuff. That and the story jumps around a bit. It will all work out in the end though. You'll see. Thanks to all of you that have stuck with me so far. This is the first time that I have ever written anything aside from a book report in middle school. So if it's gimpy, please forgive me. I'm trying my best.

Song credits for Everybody Knows go to Leonard Cohen.

****

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded

Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed

Everybody knows that the war is over

Everybody knows the good guys lost

The last two months went by at an agonizingly slow pace. Once landing on mars, Spike and Jet went back to business as usual. After only a few weeks the bounties stopped coming in, making life extremely boring if you were a cowboy. It was like all the crime in the universe had suddenly stopped. One would think that would be considered a good thing. You know universal peace and love and all that shit. But if you relied on people fucking up so that you could hunt them down like dogs and exchange them for money, it was a bad situation. This was just one of the downfalls to being self employed. That and health insurance. The two bachelors spent most of their time on the deserted ship, bored out of their minds. Jet had trimmed every bonsai he owned, twice. Spike rotated between sleeping, smoking , whining and shitting. It was actually nothing new from his ordinary routine when they had money when it came down to it. But there was still that unnerving silence on the ship that made both of them cringe. They noticed that they both were making a lot more noise than they used to. To compensate for the lack of the girls it seemed. Neither one of them would admit to the other one that that's what they were doing. But each one knew that the other one was doing it for the same reason. It was sort of an unspoken fact. 

****

The younger of the dynamic duo was currently riding the pity parade to the toilet. Walking into the small room with a rolled up magazine in hand, a sigh exiting his lips before turning to shut the door behind him. After locking the door and getting himself into position, he took a moment to think. His life sucked so much at the moment. Here he sat, the great Spike Spiegel, bounty hunter extraordinaire in a dirty toilet of an old fishing trawler with an ex cop who talked to a dog and clipped bonsai trees. Broke, hungry and bored with no one to talk to. Spike was still at odds with Mr. Fan. They had not spoken since that fateful night when Mr. Fan let it slip in a not so subtle way his feelings towards Julia. It was tragic. First his dog had deserted him and now his fan. Life was so cruel. So cruel that it let him get used to the fact that they had a woman on the ship. Even in doing what he had wanted her to do all along, which was leave, Faye was still pissing him off. By leaving. He had no one to steal dope off of, no one to pester and most importantly he had no new Victoria's Secret catalogue. Unrolling a three month old copy that was in his left hand he shifted his gaze downward, his eyes panned over the worn cover. He had looked at every picture at least five times. He needed some new material. '_Fucking Faye'_, he wouldn't need any material if he had Julia. '_Julia'_, just where the fuck was Julia anyway? Spike threw the magazine to the floor, finished his business and flushed the toilet. After exiting the toilet he headed towards his room, a errant scrap of bathroom tissue clinging to the bottom of his shoe. Spike had been spending a lot of time in his room lately. Partly because he did not want to see Mr. Fan. But mostly to think in peace.

****

Everybody knows the fight is fixed

The poor stay poor, the rich get rich

That's how it goes

Everybody knows

Since the departure of Faye he had a lot more thoughts of Julia. It wasn't that he thought of Faye the same way he thought of Julia. They had nothing to do with each other. Just when Faye was on the ship he was distracted enough not to think about the bad stuff. If things had been a little different or maybe if they had a little more time, then he and Faye could have been drinking buddies or some shit like that. There was definitely a potential friendship to be had with the purple haired shrew. It was just very hard for both of them to admit that there really wasn't any reason not to be friends. '_ Then she goes and pulls a stunt like this'. _Just like Julia had, Faye took off. But it wasn't the same. Not to mention the fact that he had never felt that way about her. He couldn't, he had his Julia, he needed no one else. Besides, Faye and Julia were definitely polar opposites. Julia had class, Faye had brass balls. They weren't necessarily a bad thing, just that he was a tad bit old fashioned. When you were an old fashioned type of guy, you liked an old fashioned type of woman. 

The kind that needed you to protect them and stuff. He wasn't a sexist or anything, he didn't expect a woman to walk three steps behind him. Just not to be so damn independent. That and he was a strong believer in the 'leave it to the imagination' dress sense. Faye did not posses that particular sense, she was a firm believer in the 'flaunt it if you got it ' dress sense. Or maybe even the 'let it all hang out' dress sense. He wouldn't go so far as to say she had the 'slut complex' dress sense, she never had brought any guys back to the ship as far as he knew. She also never tried anything with him or Jet. In fact, in the last major fight it was brought up by Faye herself that she hadn't tried anything. Well, it had been a little deeper than that, she had actually said it a little different. Spike had been picking on her, again, somewhere in the childish banter that was tossed from side to side the subject of Julia was brought up. Things always took a turn for the worse when that subject came up for debate, especially when it was brought up by Faye. When the green afro'd night in shining tacky blue suit had stood up to defend his fair maiden he spat out an insult that had something to do with Faye never being able to compare to Julia. Before Jet could intervene, Faye let out with something along the lines of, 'of course I won't, I don't intend on sexing up you and then moving on to Jet' or something like that. Of course you know what happened next.

Spike blew a fuse, surprise, then threw the coffee table at Faye. It narrowly missed her of course, but that wasn't the point. The point was that she really needed to shut her mouth when it came to all things that pertained to Julia. Man she could get him so worked up. She would just not stop until he got violent. But then again, he did the same to her. They seemed to both lash out verbally and then physically when they emotionally got hurt. Faye had really hurt Spike with that last comment about Julia too. '_That fucking bitch'. _Unfortunately, what hurt Spike even more was the fact that it was true. He knew that the relationship with Julia was a bad one. The whole time he knew that Vicious had done nothing to deserve it. To top it all off, she didn't even want to come with him in the end. After all that shit he went through, she fucking never showed up on that rainy day. He stood out there for over six hours. But then again, he didn't know why she hadn't come. Something could have happened to her on the way to the cemetery. The lanky figured cowboy stopped in front of his bedroom door. Like maybe she had been crossing the street and a runaway bus could have hit her and in the collision she could have lost her purse. Then when they brought her in for the emergency plastic surgery to fix her face from the accident, they wouldn't have known who she was. So subsequently when she woke up she had amnesia and didn't remember him, no one could tell her who she was or that he existed and was waiting for her in a run down cemetery in the rain.

****

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking

Everybody knows that the captain lied

Everybody got that broken feeling

Like their father or their dog just died

Technically she could be out there somewhere wandering the solar system clueless to Spike's existence. '_As if',_ ok that was a little far fetched. But it could've happened. Even though he knew that it didn't. If it did then she wouldn't be able to have told that weird tranny guy Gren all about him. Why the hell did she prefer the company of a cross dressing ex-con to him? Did they ever sleep together? Had she slept with anyone else since that last night they spent together three years ago? Where the hell was she now? If the syndicate had gotten her, then he would have known. Vicious would have gloated and rubbed it in Spike's face when he had seen him. So she could be just waiting out there for the right time to reunite with Spike. She may have thought that Callisto would've been a good place until she found out that Gren had dealings with Vicious, then she may have left to scope out yet another safe refuge to stage a romantic reunion. Or then again she could be on a tropical island with over one hundred sexy, well built men tending to her every need. Spike cringed at that one. '_Man I'm loosing it',_ he rubbed his temples to make the bad thoughts go away. These were the things that he didn't want to think about on a daily basis. Especially when they were thoughts of how your girlfriend might have been hit by a bus, she might be living with a transvestite hermaphrodite, or killed by a syndicate. Or even worse, if she just didn't love you enough to give up everything like you had and decided to take off to greener pastures for a life filled with a herd of male super model sex slaves. Spike didn't like these thoughts at all. He pushed the open button and stepped into the dark abyss that doubled as his room. His room, his sanctuary. Actually it was a pit of despair and a dumpster all piled into one. He had never been very tidy, aside from his appearance. Even then that left room for argument. Mainly his hair and tie did him in. The tie, well yeah, he could try and keep it straight. But the hair, it had a mind of it's own. He couldn't help genetics. Besides he thought his hair looked quite cool the way that it was. That was his trademark. There were probably guys paying tons of woolongs to get hair even close to his. '_ Yeah, you keep telling yourself that Spike'. _

****

Everybody talking to their pockets

Everybody wants a box of chocolates

And a long stem rose

Everybody knows

After plopping down on his bed, he turned to look at the clock that sat on his dresser. Seeing that it had stopped sometime since this morning, the flashing 12:00 tipped him off, his gaze then moved to a picture in a small silver frame that sat next to the defunct clock. With a great deal of effort, he kicked his left foot out and into the dresser. The picture sailed through the air and into Spike's right hand. He wiped the dust off of it with his jacket sleeve. It was a picture of Julia and himself. Vicious had once been in the picture as well. Since then he had been cut off and burned. Sometimes he could be worse than a teenage girl. A long slender finger ran across the glass in a gentle stroke. Coming to rest right over Julia's face. Spike almost could have stared a hole in that picture. His gaze was intense as he fought with a plethora of emotions. Emotions really didn't agree with Spike. It wasn't his fault, he gave it an honest attempt, but they just couldn't manage to see eye to eye. So in times like these he wasn't someone that you wanted to be around. Not if you valued your sanity or even sometimes your physical well being. Every time Faye brought up Julia, whenever she had to push those buttons despite the verbal warnings to cease and desist all her actions. When the breaking point was met, of course Spike turned into a mushroom cloud laying mother fucker. Mother fucker. But no matter how many times the green haired man went postal, after several close encounters almost resulting in her bodily harm, Faye always lived for the moment to do it again. I mean he could really kick Faye's ass too. No question. 

But despite her size, Faye could still inflict some pain.'_ Like I said before'_ he put the picture down on the mattress next to him, '_ she's got brass balls'._ Reaching his hand into his jacket, he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. Noting that it was almost empty, he then pulled one out and placed the pack back into his inside pocket. Digging through his pants pocket while laying on his back, his hand found purchase on a silver Zippo. After lighting another nail for his coffin, the lighter made it back into the pocket from which it had come. Exhaling the cancerous smoke in the direction of the ceiling from the corner of his mouth, Spike began to contemplate whether or not he could kick Jet's ass. Even though his ego told his mind that he was the living reincarnate of Bruce Lee, Jet was just plain big. Plus his older partner had the advantage, unlike bounties, of knowing Spike's fighting abilities. The former cop knew his weak points, though rare he still knew them. Even though he usually just pushed the lanky man in the direction of trouble and told him to sick em', it didn't mean that he couldn't kick some ass. He had a fake arm for Christ sakes. A hydraulic powered fake arm. Made with the same shit that a trash compacter was. Spike had a fake eye, but it didn't give him any added physical strength. Jet's arm could crush a hell of a lot harder than Spike's ever could. Not to mention he felt no pain in it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it could probably punch just as good as it crushed. Wondering if he could kick Jet's ass in a fight was just plain wrong, but it was one of those things that you just thought about from time to time. You'd be all by yourself and wonder if you ever got into a fight with him, who would win? He had thought that Ed's dad would drop like a lead balloon. Look how that turned out. Vicious was an iffy opponent as well. He had all of the advantages that Jet had. Although he didn't feel wrong for wondering if he could really kill Vicious if the time came, he felt more regret that it had come down to that. Especially over a woman. The two of them were at one time inseparable. Now they were out for each others blood. All because of Julia. 

****

Everybody knows that you love me baby

Everybody knows that you really do

Everybody knows that you've been faithful

Ah give or take a night or two

Everybody knows you've been discreet

But there were so many people that you just had to meet

Without your clothes

And everybody knows

Technically, Spike was the one at fault for that one. She was with his best friend first. Then she was with the both of them. He hated it when he thought about that. The fact that he was sharing the love of his life with his best friend behind his back made his stomach drop. What made it worse was that a good part of the syndicate knew it. That same portion also talked about how Spike hadn't been the first and only man that she had been with while seeing Vicious. Those accusations made him furious. Mainly because after time he began to believe them. It was bad to think about the fact that you were getting sloppy seconds, but to have to think about the fact that you might have been getting sloppy fifths was even worse. Not to mention having to come to the realization that if she did it to Vicious, then she would probably do it to you wasn't exactly comforting either. Now throw into the mix the tropical island full of hunky male sex slaves theory and you'll see why Spike acts the way that he does. All of the time that had passed since he had asked her to run away with him, made him think. Think about all of the instances when her stories didn't add up. She wasn't here with him now. He sat up and tried to shake the thoughts from his head. That's why he hated to think. It just hurt too much. If he didn't think then his view of Julia would remain pure and untarnished. This way was much more soothing. But at the back of his mind, locked in a trunk, were the thoughts that knew that it was true. Every time Faye picked the lock on the trunk with her big mouth, the thoughts would have a field day in his brain. In turn they would set off a chain reaction that would jump start his eye, then proceed to activate his fists. It was all very precise. Spike was a finely oiled machine. He just liked to stay in energy saver mode most of the time. Hence the Shaggy from Scooby Doo façade that he normally displayed. If the mood was right, then he could turn from Shaggy into the Incredible Hulk in a matter of seconds. It was pure magic. Zoiks!

Turning his attention to the nightstand located to the left of his bed, he rifled through a pile of papers and empty cigarette cartons in search of his elusive ash tray. Said ash tray was found teetering precariously off the edge of the back of the nightstand. One false move and it was going over, behind the small wooden piece of furniture and into no man's land. Spike grabbed the ceramic butt receptacle before a tragedy could occur and placed it on the bed. He then proceeded to ash his cig into the small round dish. This was the highlight of his night. Sitting on his bed, smoking and staring at the wall. Actually, this was the highlight of his night for the past three weeks. '_Pretty pathetic Spike'._ He just couldn't fathom why he wasn't getting up and finding something to do. I mean he could easily go to a casino and make some money. The fact that he didn't have any money had never stopped him before. He could work the tables just as good as Faye. But no, he chose to sit on the run down ship and feel sorry for himself instead. Things had to change and they needed to change fast. At this rate Spike might start talking to the dog himself. He sure wasn't going to be talking to that traitor Mr. Fan. It was all a conspiracy. Faye, Ed, Ein and Mr. Fan were all in cahoots with each other. Before his overactive brain could finish it's tangent, Jet's voice could be heard bellowing through the halls of the ship. '_You know that's what we have an intercom for Jet'_, the green haired man thought to himself as he sat upright and stretched.

****

Everybody knows, everybody knows

That's how it goes

Everybody knows

Slowly but surely, Spike made his way to the common room. It couldn't have been that important if Jet didn't come and get him himself. '_Probably wants to show me a new trick that he taught Olivia' _The cynical man quipped to himself. That's how eventful life had become. As the younger man made his way through the hatch that led into the common room he noticed that the dog was asleep on the floor and Jet was using the computer. A small wave of relief washed over Spike as he realized that the gods had saved him from watching another stupid pet trick be performed. Casually he walked over to his partner to see what he had wanted. "What's up ?" he asked as he leaned over Jet's shoulder to see what he was working on. " Got a bounty for us!", the older man quipped, "A big one too". The lankier of the two let out a small chuckle then asked, "exactly how big?". Jet looked over his shoulder at Spike and smiled, "twenty five million woolongs big". Spike raised an eyebrow and let out a evil grin. If it was that big then it had to be something good. It had to be a challenge, he loved a challenge. It was just what he needed to get his head back together. Well, at least for the time being.

"What's the scoop?", Spike then found himself absently reaching for his pack of cigarettes. You always needed a cigarette if you were going to engage in heavy thought. " You name it, this guy's done it", the balding man retorted. He then added, "like's to hang out at strip clubs". The smirk on Spike's face grew even larger. There was nothing better than waiting around for a bounty to show up in a strip club. It definitely beat waiting for one in a cold alley in the rain. He lit up his cigarette and turned his attention to the screen in front of him. Mentally reading aloud the words on the screen he tried to get an idea from all of the info they had. _'Gregory Bull, wanted for drug trafficking, operating a crystal meth lab, illegal running of a salvage facility, cocaine possession and grand theft auto….', _the list went on_. _Apparently this guy had done it all. " So where was he last spotted?" the green haired cowboy asked between drags. " He's been hiding out on Earth", Jet paused then finished his sentence, "he's a regular at this one club in a city called Providence." Spike knew that his older comrade would be excited about going back to Earth. It would give him a viable excuse for looking for Faye and Ed. So Earth it would be. The young man ashed his cigarette in Olivia's dish and placed a hand on his partner's shoulder, "Let's get on it then". Jet gave Spike a big smile and said, " We already are".

****

And everybody knows that it's now or never

Everybody knows that it's me or you

And everybody knows that you live forever

Ah when you've done a line or two

Everybody knows the deal is rotten

Old black Joe's still pickin' cotton

For your ribbon and bows

And everybody knows

Five hours later Spike found himself landing in a parking garage on the out skirts of Providence. It would take another hour before he would find the club that the bounty would supposedly show up at. Not in any hurry, the young cowboy meandered through the sea of parked cars in the clubs lot. Making a mental note of most of the cars incase a chase would ensue. That and he was just plain bored. The trip to Earth had been an uneventful one. Jet and himself had spent most of the time trying to formulate a good plan. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if they had had Faye with them. Spike would have had her pose as a stripper and he and Jet as bouncers. That way the guy would have no chance of leaving. Oh well, it was just him out on the field tonight. As he got closer to the brightly painted building the muffled thumps of the music grew louder. Drawing horny men with woolongs burning holes in their pockets to enter it's mirrored doors. 

Making his way towards the front of the club he cast a glance at the cars parked in the 'employees only' section about ten feet away from the front of the building. They varied from outrageously flamboyant to ridiculously clapped out. The crowning jewel in the crown of clapped out had to be the one nearest to the door. Spike looked down at the car on his way to the entrance and shook his head. Obviously this had to be the new girls car. So more than likely she would be here the longest in an attempt to make a good amount of money. That's what he was counting on anyway. Scanning the parking lot to make sure that no one was watching , he bent down and hid his gun under the car in front of the rear tire. The bouncer's at the door had portable metal detectors on them, so Spike knew that he wouldn't have a chance getting his Jericho by them. He was counting on the fact that the bounty wouldn't come quietly. This way he could grab his gun while in pursuit of the bounty head. That was his plan anyway. Once he was sure that he had not been spotted, he stood up and casually walked over to the front entrance. As presumed the bouncers both ran a small portable metal detector up and down Spike's body in search of any weapons. Once the sweep was complete they allowed him passage.

****

And everybody knows that the plague is coming

Everybody knows that it's moving fast

Everybody knows that the naked man and woman

Are just a shining artifact of the past

After only five minutes inside of 'EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY' Spike got the general gist of the theme. It was set up like an old earth 'gentlemen's club'. Scantily clad girls with fake tits were dancing on tables and laps. Music that was as old as Faye blaring at a volume that just bordered tolerable. Black lights dimly lit the room. The stage was currently graced with a slightly tall blonde doing the grind on the brass pole that ran from floor to ceiling. '_I wonder if they wash that between dances?'_. He was snapped out of his thoughts of strip club hygiene by a bubbly red headed waitress holding a wooden rack full of multi colored test tubes asking him if he wanted a lap shot. Figuring that he was spending Jet's money to catch this bounty, he couldn't see the harm in it. So after receiving three Alabama Slammers from a bikini clad waitress with perky tits, he was ready for action. During the second shot he almost forgot why he was here in the first place. She definitely knew what she was doing. He got up from the small table that he had been sitting at and proceeded to walk over to the bar to get another drink. After receiving his tequila sunrise, he turned to watch the doors for the bounty. Not seeing anyone that came even close to looking like Greg, he turned back to the bar and stared into his drink. The only downfall that he could see to this situation was that he was starting to think of Julia again. He really couldn't shake this feeling of hurt from his mind. He should be all happy and shit being around dozens of naked women and spending his partners petty cash on drinks and lap dances. But he wasn't.

****

Everybody knows the scene is dead

But there's going to be a meter above your bed

That will disclose

What everybody knows

Too many thoughts were swirling around in his brain at the moment. It was sometimes like this before they had picked up the girls. Back when it was Jet and himself. He would work out in the dark thinking of all the problems with his life. Problems with Julia and Vicious mostly. All of the what ifs would slowly drive him insane. Then when the circus rolled into town he had other things to keep his mind off of those problems. Now he was yet again alone with Jet and slowly sinking in a sea of self pity and denial. He had hoped that a bounty hunt in a strip club would brighten his spirits, instead it was pushing him further down in the hole. But a few more drinks could probably fix that. Gulping down his drink and ordering another Spike decided to watch the door again. Grabbing his second sunrise, he turned himself to face the door once more. Just catching a glimpse of someone who could very well be the bounty as he did so. Sure enough it was Greg. The bounty walked through the crowd and right to a table next to the center stage. The blonde had now been replaced with a girl with pink hair and way too many tattoos. One or two were all right, but he didn't know whether to watch her dance or to read her.

Regardless of what he thought of the entertainment, Greg seemed to be enjoying her just fine. He had already deposited several hundred woolongs into her garter. A whole herd of girls clung to him like flies to shit. Even the blonde from before was sitting in his lap and rubbing his short beard. Spike watched his bounty intently. Mostly because the blonde woman reminded him of Julia. She didn't look like her per say, she just had the same build and the same color hair. He chided himself for thinking of things like that. Especially at a time like this. He was working, this wasn't the time or place to revaluate his love life. 

****

And everybody knows that you're in trouble

Everybody knows what you've been through

From the bloody cross on top of Calvary

To the beach of Malibu

Spike gulped down his drink and started deciding when to make his move. He would need to wait until the crowd of girls left Greg. Who knew how long that would take. '_Probably when he runs out of money'._ Downing his second sunrise he paced the glass down on the bar top with a thud and requested another. The cute blue haired bartender smiled and complied. Making sure to give Spike a wink before handing him his drink. He nodded his head at her and turned back around to keep an eye on Greg. The blonde was now gone and the red head that had given him the lap shots was in her place. Only about five girls remained around Greg. When there was only one or two he would make his move. Scanning around the dimly lit room, he made sure to note the bouncers' posts. One was at the end of the bar, one at the door, two out side of the door and one near the center stage. More than likely they had batons and stun guns in their possession. A baton wasn't too bad, Spike could dodge a hit from a baton. It was the stun guns that made him cringe. Fuck those hurt. The last time he got zapped with one of those, he was incapacitated for over forty five minutes. Not to mention the fact that he had pissed himself. 

A change in the music jarred him from his thoughts. The tattooed lady was now gone and the stage was empty. Greg was shooing away the girls that were hanging all over him and giving the stage his full attention. Not to mention the fact that a large number of men were drifting towards the stage in droves as well. Several of the girls that were leaching off of the bounty were now at the bar. The blonde walked up and stood right next to Spike. "Hey shugah" she drawled out in a fake southern accent, "how you doin' tonight? Mmmm". If she hadn't talked, then Spike would have continued to envision her as Julia. But the overly done voice killed it. "I'll be better once I get out of this place", he mustered. The blonde took that as a 'no, I don't want you to talk to me' and walked away from him and to another man a few stools down. 

Spike felt pretty low right now, he was comparing a stripper to Julia. It was bad when you compared any girl with the same color hair as your girlfriend to her. It was something love struck morons did. He would have never considered himself a love struck moron. Was he? Would Julia resort to stripping? would she enjoy it? She would have liked the attention. She had posed as an escort one time on a mission. She had enjoyed that role. But that was before she was sleeping with Spike. He started to wonder if she had slept with her target. '_Just stop it!'_. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. After rubbing his eyes, he let out a disgruntled sigh and got up to approach Greg.

****

Everybody knows it's coming apart

Take one last look at this Sacred Heart

Before it blows

And everybody knows

Pushing his way through the crowd of people, Spike spotted his bounty about five feet away. He was standing up with his left hand full of money. Shaking it in the air in obvious anticipation of the next act. The music started to play and the crowd of guys began to cheer. All the big hitters usually came out around this time. The girls who had made this their career. From the looks of things, this place had some good one's. Spike was inadvertently squished by the riled up group. He lifted his hand up slightly in order to prevent his cigarette from being smashed. That would really piss him off at the moment. You don't smash a tipsy, depressed, suicidal bounty hunter's cigarette in a heated testosterone induced frenzy. You just didn't. Turning himself once again to avoid being crushed, Spike noticed a medium sized digital sign above the dj's booth. It displayed what song they were playing along with what artist was performing it. According to the sign, they were currently listening to 'Zero' by some band called 'the smashing pumpkins'. It had a decent beat to it. This wasn't his type of music, but he could enjoy seeing a over endowed girl take her clothes off to it.

The curtain slowly opened , allowing the crowd to see the silhouette of the dancer on the dimly lit stage. Slowly small spot lights turned on. Gradually illuminating the swaying figure as she did her carnal dance with the brass pole. From what Spike could see she was pretty hot. She was small, but fit. Medium length blonde hair. Nice tits too. He moved closer to the stage. All the while watching Greg out of the corner of his eye. His bounty was currently hanging over the brass railing tempting the dancer with a fist full of woolongs. This chick had to have made at least five thousand woolongs in the past minute and a half. He was definitely in the wrong business. The closer he got, the better the view. As he got within five feet of the stage he stopped dead in his tracks. Staring wide eyed at the stage, mouth agape, Spike's brain slowly came to a crashing halt as recognition dawned on him.

****

Everybody knows, everybody knows

That's how it goes

Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows

That's how it goes

Everybody knows

I'm starting to get somewhere. Please let me know how I'm doing so far. This is my first story and I'm still learning the ropes. I think that I'm loosening up a little. It hopefully will pick up a little from here on out. I just wanted to give all of the gang their emotional turn. Thanks for reading!

****


	12. We're a Happy Family

Yeah, another chapter!! Well it's actually a baby chapter. Instead of boring you and trying to drag it out, I opted to just make it short and sweet. There is no obvious point to it, it's another one of those filler chapters. Just think of it as the chapter that's about nothing.. Well, nothing yet. Thanks to all who reviewed the last one, even though only one of them wasn't lost by ff.net. I'm still a little bitter, sorry. I'm not exactly one of the popular writers on the scene, so I cherish my reviews. So it's only right to feel mad when I can't click on the review button and reread them for inspiration. Ok, I'll shut up now. Oh, by the way, the song was just to be funny. No other reason. I also didn't use all of the lyrics.

I don't own BeBop, I also don't have any money. Shit, I ain't even gots no hubcaps!

Song credits for We're a Happy Family go to the Ramones.

****

We're a happy family

We're a happy family

We're a happy family

Me mom and daddy

Sittin' here in queens

Eatin' refried beans

We're in all the magazines

Gulping down thorazines

We ain't got no friends

Our troubles never end

No Christmas cards to send

Daddy likes men…..

Life was truly an unpredictable thing. It could take you a thousand places and back again. So was the case of Edward's life. She had been abandoned in a day care center at the tender age of four by her father. Then she had lived in a orphanage until she was about eight. Life also took her to a few more unsavory places before plopping her into the laps of the crew of a bounty hunting ship called the BeBop for two years. But that was not the final destination of the genius hacker. Life decided that it was time to move on once again. This time fate placed Edward into the care of Faye. Something that no one would have ever thought would happen in a million years, including Ed. But be that as it may, here she was, living with Faye in her apartment on earth. They still were bounty hunters. Well, Faye actually went out and got the bad guys, Ed just got the info for her. The funny thing was that even though it was just Faye, Ein and herself, they had tons more money than the whole group of them ever made on the BeBop. The purple haired woman was only bringing in what Spike always had dubbed 'small fries' and they were still ahead of the game. 

What was even better was the fact that Ed was given a percent! She actually had her own money! So needless to say her tomato always had the latest upgrades. Having her own money also meant that she could buy all the chocolate that she could handle. Faye always made sure that there was plenty of food and weed in the house as well. In fact, Faye's apartment building was a pot smoker's sanctuary. There were four apartments in the large building. Every apartment was filled with party minded stoners with a need to have fun. Ein had other dogs to play with, Ed had people to talk to that thought she was a pretty cool person. In fact, she actually appeared to be quite sane compared to some of the other tenants in the building. That brought Edward's train of thought back to the fickle hand of fate once again. Her theory was that she had served enough time being the outcast, so the powers that be decided to place her in a spot that made her look kind of normal. Now to anyone that has ever met her, Ed is far from normal. But in this, almost surreal environment, she was a pillar of sanity. Who would have thought?

Edward could honestly say that this point in her life was the best so far. She was truly happy. Her days consisted of shopping, playing in the park and watching tv. Not to mention all of the company she had. Everyone in the building would hang out at each others apartment. It was like a big commune. In this commune there were some very interesting people. 

There was the landlady, Pam, she seemed to be of some asian decent. Then her two sons, Rick and Clay, now they were fun. Ed was the youngest in the building, so of course just about everyone seemed to be fun. Especially after only having Spike and Jet to compare anyone to. But topping the mountain of fun was Deke. He was the coolest person Ed had ever met. In fact, how Deke appeared to Edward, was probably how she appeared to Spike and Jet. In her opinion, she was a pretty fun person herself. But Deke took the cake. He was around twenty five or so. Although most of the time he acted more juvenile than Ed. A shit eating grin was always plastered across his face and a permanent red glow on his cheeks told of a early start at drinking. You could also talk him into doing anything. No really, you could. One time at a weekend party in Faye's apartment Rick and Clay talked Deke into sticking his balls on the outside of the blender. Now this in itself seemed pretty stupid. But, the blender was stainless steel and it had a short. So when condensation built up on the outside of it, it would give you a zap if it was running. 

So once Deke tried it, he was addicted. The fact that he was as drunk as a skunk and had smoked half his body weight in hash probably had a little to do with it also. But it was still pretty fucking funny to watch. That was just a little peek into the life that the spunky read head was now leading. There were a whole heard of others that made living in this building an exciting experience too. But the condition Ed was currently in prevented her from remembering what her name was, let alone anyone else's. It was a Saturday night and it was Faye's turn to host the party. They all took turns using each other's apartment for the weekend festivities. 

Ed sat up from her previous position of laying on the floor and lifted her goggles off of her eyes. The room had a haze of smoke floating around it. Christmas lights that were stapled to the ceiling twinkled and gave the room a funky look. A crowd of tenants were assembled in the apartment, smoking and drinking. Playing video games, dancing to the loud music and falling over drunk. Ein was currently entertaining two guys named Jimmy and Mike by drinking beer from his bowl. Rick was playing bar tender and Deke was getting ready to give his balls a zap on the blender. It was a pretty normal Saturday as far as Ed could see. 

Now right now your probably thinking that this was not the best environment for a thirteen, soon to be fourteen, year old to be in. But when you considered all of the places and things that Edward had already seen in her young life, it wasn't all that bad. Not to mention the fact that stoners were quite docile creatures. There would be no shoot outs or sneak attacks in Faye's building. No syndicate bad guys or unsavory rival bounty hunters either. Just a group of people that you could rely on. That made Ed feel real good. She wasn't sure if this was what Faye had meant by 'belonging' but she was sure that if it wasn't, then it was pretty damn close.

The fuzzy haired hacker was snapped from her thoughts by someone gently nudging her in the arm. She looked to her right to see an outstretched hand holding a water pipe. Not wanting to mess up the rotation, she took a long and heavy hit before passing the pipe along to the next person. Placing her goggles back on her head as she mentally noticed what good shit this was, Ed laid back down on the floor and proceeded to let her mind wander once more. Her thoughts were as fuzzy as her hair. As time went by, it was hard to differentiate what was really happening and what was just THC induced. She could hear someone calling her name, someone she knew but didn't quite recognize. The voice was a mixture of surprise and anger. Maybe not anger, but it did have a disciplinary tone to it. Edward decided to move her overly heavy head in the direction of the voice. It seemed like it had taken three hours, but in reality it must have taken only a few seconds.

She could make out a large silhouette standing over her. Then the figure's face came nose to nose with hers. It was very trippy. Her eyes strained to stay in focus, the goggles weren't helping matters much either. After a short pause her mind caught up and placed the voice, silhouette and face to the appropriate person. It looked so real, but she had to be dreaming. All of this new information sizzled and popped in Ed's brain for a few moments before she could muster up the ability to speak. Normally it would have been instantaneous, see then speak. She really never let her brain in on it before. Which would pretty much explain why everything that escaped her mouth never made sense. Because it literally just escaped. No thought involved.

But since thought decided to take the wheel this time around, she let it and spoke, "This _is_ some good shit!".

****

Daddy's telling lies

Baby's eating flies

Mommy's on pills

Baby's got the chills

I'm friends with the president

I'm friends with the pope

We're all makin' money

Sellin' daddy's dope

We're a happy family

We're a happy family

We're a happy family

Me mom and daddy……

Short, I know. But I needed it for the next one. Yes, I WILL be returning to the strip club for the next chapter. I was going to just jump right in and finish off the scene but decided against it. I mean, come on, I might as well drag it out. We ALL know what's going to happen. At least let me try and divert your attention. So stay tuned for the next chapter; 'Angel' in a centerfold. Get it, 'angel'? Never mind. If your up to it, I've got two more of these shit piles, I mean stories out there. Give em' a read and tell me what you think. Satan


	13. Angel is a centerfold

OK, this might be a little confusing. The song for this chapter is 'Angel' in a centerfold( it was a choice of that or Honey, what you do for money by AC/DC but I thought this one was more befitting) but the song she is dancing to is Zero. So I am going to be using both sets of lyrics in the song. To really set the mood you need to 'hear' the song she's dancing to. To try to avoid as much confusion as possible, I've devised a plan. The lyrics will be identified like so, **_'zero lyrics'……_angel in a centerfold lyrics. ** Got it, good!!! Thank you to all that have reviewed. It makes me all happy and stuff.

Credits for Angel is a centerfold go to The J Geils Band.

Credits for Zero go to The Smashing Pumpkins.

****

Does she walk?

Does she talk?

Does she come complete?

My homeroom homeroom angel always pulled me from my seat

She was pure like snowflakes, no one could ever stain

The memory of my angel could never cause me pain

Years go by, I'm looking through a girlie magazine

And there's my homeroom angel on the pages in between

My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold

My angel is a centerfold

Angel is a centerfold

If one could picture for a moment a set of metal gears. The overly done fiberglass ones made up to look like metal that you would normally see in a commercial or b-movie. Accompanied by the commercial style overly theatrical steam. Yes, those are the ones! Well picture those gears, turning in perfect unison. Flawless movement. Got it? Good. Now if one can picture those gears grinding to a screeching halt. The sound of squealing brakes, metal clanking and crunching can be heard as the gears slowly seize and twist. Lastly, picture that steam or smoke what have you. Picture it billow out of the gears and fill the scene that's currently playing in your head as said gears finally come to a complete stop. Watch as it fills the image until all that you see is the steam/smoke. That my friends is a birds eye view into the mechanizations of Spike Spiegel's brain. More specifically, his brain while currently standing in front of the stage. To take it one step further, in front of that stage, while looking at the half naked dancer and trying to believe that this is all just a bad dream. At any moment he'd wake up and curse the after effects of alcohol. But it wasn't a dream, was it? No Spike, it wasn't. It was real.

****

Slipping notes under the desk

While I was thinking about her dress

I was shy, I turned away, before she caught my eye

I was shakin' in my shoes whenever she flashed those baby blues

Something had a hold on me when angel passed close by

Those soft and fuzzy sweaters, too magical to touch

To see her in that negligee is really just too much

My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold

My angel is a centerfold

My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold

My angel is a centerfold

********************************************************************************

__

'My reflection, dirty mirror

There's no connection to myself'

So real that he was completely frozen. He couldn't move or speak. Blinking wasn't even an option at the moment. Spike suddenly had tunnel vision. All that he could see was the swaying , enticing and unmistakable form of the dancer. Her wavy blonde locks, hypnotizing eyes and mischievous grin. Slender legs and arms. Hands that he had seen so many times that he had lost count were slowly removing piece after piece of her skimpy clothing. All while hanging upside down on that cursed brass pole. Ever so slowly her body would slide down towards the floor a little bit more. Delicate fingers undoing zippers and snaps. The loud music blaring in the background as hordes of men slipped money into her thigh high red leather boots. Everything not in his peripheral vision was simply a blur. Sort of like the view in hyperspace. He could hear just fine, he just couldn't talk or move. Spike resembled a true statue to manliness. Typical Cro-Magnon stance, confused but attentive stare, head tilted slightly to the side, cigarette dangling between the index and middle finger in his right hand and a drink in his left. It was a sight to see indeed.

__

' I'm your lover, I'm your zero

I'm the face in your dreams of glass'

But he wasn't concerned about his appearance. He was concerned about the girl shaking her perfect tits in front of him. It appeared that she hadn't noticed Spike in the crowd yet. Maybe if she had she would have stopped? Maybe she would have been embarrassed or ashamed of herself to have him see her like this. After all, if you've been separated from someone for as long as they had wouldn't you be? Would you feel disappointed if you were in Spike's shoes? Well, if you had feet big enough to fit in them. If you were the dancer, would you feel sorry for shattering the image that you once were to the stunned man with poofy green hair doing his best Forrest Gump impersonation in front of you for several thousand woolongs a dance? If you saw him in front of you anyway. Right now if Spike _could_ think, he probably would be thinking '_ what the fuck!!!!'_. But Spike couldn't think. He couldn't do anything but watch the show along with everyone else.

**__**

'So save your prayers

For when you're really gonna need 'em

Throw out your cares and fly'

He just stood, mouth agape, as she took off her red leather thong with a sexual flourish and tossed it into the crowd. It sailed through the sea of hands and conveniently landed on Spike's head. He watched her erotically pause as she made it to the half way mark on the pole. Now fully undressed, the beauty before him began to ever so slowly twirl upside down around the pole counter clock wise. With all of the grace and form of a prima ballerina. The choice of music only fueled the fire that she was creating for her audience. If it hadn't been her then it would have been pure art. But it wasn't art, it was heartbreaking. Maybe that's why Spike was frozen in place with a red thong on his head. His heart did feel extremely heavy at the moment. Wouldn't yours? But he wasn't able to think about that at the present time. Those musings and ponderings would return to him much later on. Much later. 

The pumped up crowd began to move closer to the stage. But Spike held his ground. He was almost knocked over as two large men pushed by him, crushing his forgotten cigarette in the process and knocking it's charred remains to the floor. The green haired man wasn't paying any attention to it anyway. Even if it had survived the collision and burned all the way down to his fingers, he wouldn't have noticed. A gun shot to his groin would have gone unnoticed at this particular point in time. That's how fucked up this whole thing had him. So needless to say he couldn't move a finger when the dancer stopped her spinning and poised herself , still upside down mind you, on the pole and held her position in expectation of the next verse of the song.

**__**

'Wanna go for a ride?'

On cue, still keeping her grip on the pole, she opened her legs wide for the whole club to observe, subsequently causing Spike to drop his drink. Scratch that whole frozen in place thing, a part of Spike's anatomy was still in functioning order and it wasn't the hand that was holding the drink either. Hey, he was a man, what else could he do? He couldn't do anything. That was the whole problem. The lanky cowboy couldn't move an inch as his precious bounty slipped crisp bills into her boot, agitating him to no end. He couldn't utter a word of protest as she pulled a gun out of the other boot and placed it against the side of Greg's head. As everyone else proceeded to move away from the stage, Spike unwillingly held his ground. Even though he wanted more than anything to rip the red undergarment off of his head, run up to the stage and punch the bounty out, grab the blonde vixen off of the stage and drag them both out into the parking lot. To yell at her until his voice left him about what she was doing and make her put her clothes on. He wanted to know where the hell has she been all this fucking time. Tons of questions and accusations flitted through his dazed mind. Unfortunately it was completely out of his hands. 

**__**

'She's the one for me

She's all I really need

Cause she's the one for me'

Nothing could be done as the dancer grabbed the bearded man's collar, with her gun still pressed firmly against his temple and dragged him off of the stage amidst the frenzy of people trying to escape the building. She then shot three of the advancing bouncers in a matter of seconds. Her nimble but yet strong form still approaching the door with the bounty in tow as the last two bouncers from outside of the main doors rushed into the building only to be shot before even getting within five feet of her. Not killing any of them, just wounding them enough to let her escape. She was still as accurate as ever and still wanted every man she had shot to know that they were debilitated by a woman about half their size. That's one of the things that Spike always had admired about her. Too bad she was using her amazing abilities to steal his bounty, although he still couldn't figure out why.

Just as important was the fact that if he didn't get his ass in gear then maybe she would disappear from his life again. Maybe forever. But his body still wasn't cooperating. He could only listen, eyes still locked onto the now empty stage, to screams of the other dancers as they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. The music had now stopped and drunk men were stealing bottles of liquor. Fights had broken out in just about every square foot of the place since the incapacitation of the bouncers. It was total chaos. More gunshots could be heard out in the parking lot. Whether it was bouncer back up or rival bounty hunters, Spike didn't know. He only knew that he needed to move. Too bad he couldn't.

**************************************************************************************

****

Now listen:

It's okay, I understand

This ain't no never-never land

I hope that when this fish is gone

I'll see you when your clothes are on

Take your car, yes we will,

We'll take your car and drive it

Take it to a motel room and take 'em off in private

It finally took a large blow to the left side of his head to snap Spike from his trance. Blunt trauma to the cranium was always good like that. It was kind of like hitting his reset switch or something. Even though the punch wasn't intentionally aimed at him, his first action since dropping his drink and getting a temporary chubby was to reciprocate and give the man next to him an even harder punch to the face. Once the man dropped to the ground, he knocked out the man on his other side that the initial swing was meant for. Spike was never really one to choose sides. Once his brain had had time to properly reboot and after regaining his ability to move, he then made his way to the doors. Punching, kicking and shoving anyone who got in his way in the process. Spike could just make out the exit when some one tripped him. The tall bounty hunter landed flat on his face. As he lifted his head, he could feel the warm blood starting to exit his left nostril. "Fuck!", was the only thing to leave his mouth. Scrambling to his feet, the disheveled cowboy pushed his body the remaining three feet to the open door and headed into the parking lot. After a quick and panicked glance showed no sign of the formerly MIA blonde dancer that had been plaguing his dreams and thoughts since her disappearance or the bounty, Spike hurriedly turned and headed towards the spot where he had left his gun.

Only when he got there, there was no gun. No beat up car either. Only a small puddle of what looked like oil. Feeling as though the whole world had just come crashing down on him, Spike let his body lead him on auto pilot through the demolition derby that was once the parking lot. Walking back past the mirrored doors of the club, Spike noticed that the red thong had survived the ruckus and was still lodged in his unruly green hair. Quickly pulling it out, he shoved it into his coat pocket. An exasperated sigh could be heard coming from him as he fully exited the parking lot, avoiding the police that were now on the scene. He had lost the bounty and had lost her, again. Not to mention his gun. "Fuck off!", escaped his lips as everything hit him at once. But even after all that had transpired just minutes ago, a small smile started to spread across his face. As the seconds flew by, the smile began to morph into a devilish smirk. Trudging through the city on his way to the parking garage that housed his ship, Spike realized that she couldn't go very far. She had to turn the bounty in on Earth. He could catch up to her. Then he would get some answers. '_ And she'll get the surprise of her life',_ he mused to himself as he broke into a jog down the street. 

****

A part off me has just been wrecked

The pages from my mind are stripped

Oh no I can't deny it

Oh yeah, I guess I got to buy it

My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold

My angel is a center fold

My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold

My angel is a centerfold

Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

I hope that it wasn't too confusing. I tried to keep the lyrics separate.

Next chapter I will have them reunite. I promise!!!!!!

This chapter is dedicated to Blooknaburg, whom I was chatting with while writing most of it. Parts of our conversation were used in it. Or should I say, ideas that sprang from our conversation. That and I paid homage to her story Life in general after the fall with the thong stuck in Spike's hair. Although in her story it's not a thong . Read it and find out what it is. There, now that I've given my props, I'm off to write the next chapter.

Will Spike be happy or upset when he finally catches up to his Angel in a centerfold? Mmmmm…….


End file.
